Adaptation Ventures Journal | Issue 05 | Briefing | May 2026

Wednesday, May 7, 2026

April was Autism Acceptance Month – and there has never been a better time to be building, funding, and championing this space.

In this newsletter you will find recent funding and acquisition news, a deep look at the economics of disability tech, a major win for early-stage founders in non-dilutive funding, what happened when we showed up at Babson College (ranked #1 in Entrepreneurship for 30 years), and a reflection worth sitting with.

Our Value Proposition

Adaptation Ventures is a pioneering pre-seed fund and investor community dedicated to fueling tech innovation in disability, neurodivergence, and accessibility. We’re tapping a massive, underserved market and catalyzing venture-scale returns in an $18 trillion market that touches nearly everyone:

• 2 billion people live with disabilities globally, and nearly everyone will use adaptive technology at some point in their lives
• $18 trillion in spending power is controlled by people with disabilities and their supporters, who have a much higher customer lifetime value and brand loyalty than average
• For every $1 spent on assistive tech, there is a 9x ROI as people gain independence and potential, engage in activities, excel at work, raise families, and more
• The assistive tech industry alone is projected to be $112B by 2034.

Funding Rounds & Acquisitions

Capital continues to validate our thesis. Below are the most notable recent transactions across disability tech, neurodivergence, aging, and diagnostics.

• Chapter Raises $100M Series E at $3B Valuation. Chapter, the AI-native Medicare navigation platform, closed a $100M Series E led by Generation Investment Management, with participation from Fifth Down Capital, 8VC, Addition, Narya Capital, Susa Ventures, and Maverick Ventures. The company’s valuation has more than doubled in under a year, and it has tripled revenue over the past year, surpassing $100M in ARR while keeping headcount flat – a vivid demonstration of what AI-native efficiency looks like in the aging and senior navigation space. Chapter is actively expanding beyond Medicare enrollment into broader retirement financial services.
• Cerebral Acquires Inflow to Deepen ADHD Care. Cerebral, a digital mental health provider supporting millions of patients, has acquired Inflow, a CBT-grounded app helping people manage ADHD day-to-day through structured skills modules and habit formation. The acquisition broadens Cerebral’s continuum of care from clinical appointments through between-session support – and marks the company’s deliberate re-entry into the ADHD space as part of its “Cerebral 2.0” strategy. Neurodivergent care continues to attract meaningful M&A attention from companies looking to build platform depth.
• Abbott Completes Acquisition of Exact Sciences. Abbott finalized its acquisition of Exact Sciences, maker of the Cologuard non-invasive cancer screening test, in a move designed to bolster its diagnostics and cancer screening portfolio. This transaction underscores the strategic premium that large medtech and diagnostics incumbents are placing on accessible, non-invasive screening tools – a category with direct implications for early disease identification across aging and disability populations.
• FunctionHealth Acquires Getlabs. Longevity health platform FunctionHealth, which enables at-home accessible lab testing, acquired mobile healthcare platform Getlabs. The combination is squarely aimed at bringing diagnostics to people where they are – a model that aligns directly with the independence-first values of this community.

Non-Dilutive Funding

SBIR Is Back – and More Durable Than Ever

For founders building at the intersection of disability, neurodivergence, and AI, the restoration of the SBIR/STTR programs is one of the most important developments of the year. After a six-plus month lapse following the programs’ expiration on September 30, 2025, President Trump signed the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act (S. 3971) into law on April 13, 2026, reauthorizing SBIR and STTR through September 30, 2031 – the longest extension in the programs’ recent history. Federal agencies are now preparing new solicitations, with DoD expected to move first and NIH and NSF following in late April through May.

SBIR has historically been one of the most powerful tools in the early-stage founder’s arsenal – and for founders in disability and assistive tech, it is especially meaningful. Programs like NIDILRR’s SBIR track fund exactly the kind of innovation this community needs: mobility assistance devices, communication tools for speech and hearing impairments, adaptive employment technologies, independent living aids, and rehabilitation innovations. Phase I awards in the $280K range prove technical concepts and unlock pathways to Phase II funding of $750K-$1M.

Why Non-Dilutive Capital Matters for Early-Stage Startups

One of the most important, and underappreciated, strategies for early-stage founders is using non-dilutive capital to de-risk the business before seeking equity investors. Grants and government programs allow a team to validate technical feasibility, demonstrate early user traction, and build credibility without giving up equity. For investors like Adaptation Ventures, a founder who has already secured SBIR funding signals something powerful: the federal government reviewed the (often very detailed) proposal and bet on the team. That signal matters.

Founders building in disability, neurodivergence, aging, and diagnostics should be actively exploring all available non-dilutive avenues. Here are a few high-profile opportunities worth knowing about right now:

• NIDILRR SBIR – The National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research funds Phase I feasibility projects through its SBIR track, with awards around $280K and pathways to Phase II funding of $750K-$1M. With the programs now reauthorized, new solicitations will be opening soon.
• HHS $2M AI and Caregiving Challenge – Coordinated through the Administration for Community Living (ACL), this initiative supports founders building AI-powered solutions for caregivers of aging and disabled individuals – a direct fit for the companies we back. Deadline: July 31, 2026.
• The $1M WellWithAll Prize – The WellWithAll Foundation is now accepting applications from teams building AI-powered solutions that are already improving daily health – especially in communities where gaps are widest. Co-presented with AARP and sponsored by M&T Bank, the prize requires a live solution with at least 1,000 users and a path to reach 100,000+ people within three years. Deadline: May 29, 2026.

The Economics of Disability Tech

Demand is unrelenting (and growing exponentially). Supply Is Constrained. The gap is the opportunity: $18T worth of spending power ready to vote with their wallets.

It has become fashionable to describe the disability market as “underserved.” That framing undersells the reality. The more precise description: demand is unrelenting and supply is broken. One in four people globally live with a disability. One in six children is diagnosed as developmentally disabled or neurodivergent. 1.4 billion people will be over 65 within the next four years. A limb is amputated every 90 seconds. These are not edge cases – they are the fabric of everyday life for billions of people and families.

Together, people with disabilities and the supporters who care for them control $18 trillion in annual spending power. And they behave differently as consumers: they are three times more loyal than average customers, they make more shopping trips, and they spend more per trip. Companies with strong disability inclusion practices report 1.6x more revenue, 2.6x more net income, and double the economic profit compared to peers – a finding from Disability:IN’s 2025 Disability Index, which drew data from hundreds of enterprises across industries and geographies.

Yet the supply side has consistently failed to meet this demand. Technology is unevenly deployed or stuck at the concept stage. Incumbents are fragmented and slow. Workforce shortages constrain capacity. And for decades, investors simply did not look.

Three forces are converging to make this the most compelling moment in the history of disability tech investing.

• Collapse in Cost. First, the cost of building for this market has collapsed. Inference costs for frontier AI have fallen roughly 280x in the last 18 months, and the price of sensors, actuators, and data pipelines has followed. Capital-efficient companies – whether software or hardware – can now reach scale on two rounds of funding.
• Demographic Mega Trends. Second, demographics are compounding: aging populations, rising diagnosis rates, and a generation of families unwilling to accept the status quo are creating durable, recession-resistant demand.
• Exits Are Happening. Third, exits are already happening. In 2024 alone: CareBridge was acquired by Elevance Health for $2.7 billion; EvolutionIQ was acquired by CCC Intelligent Solutions for $730 million; UserWay went public and was subsequently acquired by Level Access for $100 million.

The startups Adaptation Ventures backs are filling the gap between unrelenting demand and broken supply – with $18 trillion of spending power on the other side. That is not a niche. That is the largest overlooked market in the world.

Adaptation in the Wild

Babson Generator Build-a-thon 2026

On April 11th, Britt and Rich took the stage at Babson College’s Generator Build-a-thon – and what we witnessed there was nothing short of extraordinary.

What started as a modest gathering of three schools and roughly 200 students ballooned into a flagship event drawing 35 schools and over 500 students from across the globe competing in a 12-hour AI innovation sprint. The theme: AI × Body & Mind – the intersection where artificial intelligence meets human performance and independence.

Remarkably, 40% of students chose the accessibility track, building AI-powered tools for people with cognitive, neurodivergent, physical, and sensory differences. That is not a modest showing. That is almost half the room, voluntarily choosing to tackle real-world problems for this community – choosing something profound over social networks, influencer platforms, or the usual parade of consumer apps. It was incredible to see students working on challenges that matter.

Adaptation invited several friends from the disability community (thank you to Becky, Hezzy, Bhargavi, Raquel, Jeff, Dan, and Dave) to participate alongside students – lending their lived experience, offering direct feedback, and getting in on the action. The energy in that room made something clear: the next generation of founders is arriving, and they are choosing purpose.

To Ponder: The Strong Silent Type

“Hail my life!
My sweetness and my hope”

– Hermann of Reichenau

Hermann of Reichenau (1013–1054) is one of the most remarkable figures in the history of disability – and most people have never heard of him.

Born in 1013 in what is now Bavaria, Hermann had a condition that left him almost entirely unable to move and barely able to speak – likely ALS or spinal muscular atrophy, based on modern medical analysis of his biographer’s accounts. He had to be carried from place to place. He had a custom chair built for him. His contemporaries called him Hermannus Contractus: Hermann the Lame.

They also called him “the wonder of his age.”

In a monastery on an island in Lake Constance, this man – who could not walk and could barely speak – authored the earliest surviving medieval chronicle of universal human history, composed some of the most beloved Catholic hymns still sung today (including Salve Regina and Alma Redemptoris Mater), and became one of the foremost mathematicians and astronomers of the 11th century. He wrote treatises on music theory, introduced the astrolabe to Western Europe, and translated scientific discoveries from Arabic sources – bridging the intellectual worlds of East and West at a time when almost no one in Europe could do so.

His fluency as a thinker was undiminished by what his body could not do. His mind found its way to the world.

At Adaptation Ventures, we think about people like Hermann often. Not as an inspiration story – but as evidence. The constraint was never the limit. The constraint was often the edge.

April in Review & May Ahead

What Happened in April

April was Autism Acceptance Month, with communities, organizations, and companies worldwide celebrating under the 2026 theme “Celebrate Differences” (huge shout out to our friends at Difference Partners!) – a call to move beyond awareness toward genuine celebration of the strengths that autistic individuals bring to families, schools, and workplaces. World Autism Awareness Day on April 2nd was recognized by the WHO, which called for policies promoting neuroinclusive environments in health, education, and the workplace, noting that globally 1 in 127 people is now diagnosed with autism.

The AAPD’s 2026 National Community Event brought together the disability community and allies on April 29th to celebrate progress and look ahead – a gathering that reflects the growing civic organizing power of this movement.

Also significant this month: the signing of SBIR/STTR reauthorization into law (see above) and the continued rollout of federal workforce data showing that the Schedule A hiring pathway for federal employees with disabilities was disproportionately affected by DOGE-era mass probationary firings – a trend that disability advocates are actively challenging through legal channels.

What to Watch in May

Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) falls on May 21, 2026 – the 15th annual celebration of this global event dedicated to digital access and inclusion. This year’s theme is “Design, Develop, Deliver” – centered on making accessibility an integral part of everything we build, not an afterthought. Events are happening across the country and virtually; the GAAD website has a full directory.

Also in May:

• May is National Speech-Language-Hearing Month and National Mobility Month | Awareness moments with direct relevance to the assistive tech and diagnostics companies in our pipeline
• Taste of Perkins | May 7, 2026 | Perkins School for the Blind, Watertown, MA | An unforgettable evening of gourmet food, cocktails, and musical performances by Perkins students.
• DisabilityTech Investor Summit | May 27 | MassBio, Cambridge, MA | A half-day summit featuring investor panels, engaging discussions, and founder pitches. Brittany and Rich will be on stage with our friends at the Perkins School for the Blind’s Innovation Center.
• $1M WellWithAll Prize | May 29 Deadline | Deadline for the for AI-powered health equity solutions prize application

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Thank you for being part of the Adaptation Ventures journey.

Best,
The Adaptation Ventures Team

This journal is for informational purposes only, is not a prospectus, may not be relied on as legal, tax, securities or investment advice and does not constitute an offer to buy or sell interests in Adaptation Ventures Fund I (the “Fund”).