Autism therapy just got a new boost from venture capital.
ABPathfinder, a cloud-based tool to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of autism therapy, is pleased to announce a significant Series A investment by FCA Venture Partners, a Nashville-based healthcare venture capital firm. These funds will be used to fund continued growth activities.
Each year, Autism affects an additional 60,000 children in the United States - more than the diagnoses of childhood cancer, diabetes and AIDS combined. This influx of children is overwhelming autism therapists already overburdened with administrative paperwork. ABPathfinder seeks to alleviate those burdens by replacing traditional paper-and-pencil methods with advanced, intuitive healthcare technology.
Currently, ABPathfinder is offered in therapy centers and school districts across the country, and they are in discussions with international therapy organizations. 'We continue to have strong acceptance in the market and know that there are thousands more organizations that could benefit from the ABPathfinder software,' said Jeff Blackwood, CEO of ABPathfinder. 'FCA Venture Partners' deep experience in the healthcare technology industry and proven track record of helping companies like ours scale will help ABPathfinder achieve our mission of helping therapists and educators maximize outcomes for their clients.'
ABPathfinder's software allows therapists and educators to develop individualized therapy plans, gather data on progress, and present a comprehensive view of that data. This process allows for informed, near-real-time decisions on the progress of a given client. A 2012 study showed that ABPathfinder helped therapists increase a client's skill acquisition up to 20% while cutting administrative time in half.
In addition, ABPathfinder works with research organizations and healthcare insurance companies to improve the likelihood of positive outcomes for individuals with autism, potentially leading to the definition of new categories of autism and corresponding treatments.
'The significant improvement our software brings to autism therapy and special education delivery makes the adoption of ABPathfinder's software inevitable. We are by far the most flexible, intuitive software solution for autism therapy, minimizing the disruption to therapists by integrating their protocols and methodologies and customizing elements of the software to their practices,' said Blackwood. 'In the end, we know that the software can have a huge impact on the lives of both the therapists and their clients.'
John Burch, Managing Partner of FCA Venture Partners, will be joining ABPathfinder's Board of Directors. 'We are pleased to work with the ABPathfinder team and help them build the market leading company in this emerging industry,' he said. FCA has a focus on companies in the early stage to growth equity phase in the healthcare technology and digital media industries. John Burch added that, 'ABPathfinder meets our exact investment criteria and is a perfect fit for the fund. Existing investors, Dundee Venture Capital and a new outside investor, Arkansas-based Tonic Fund, joined FCA in the Series A investment round.
About ABPathfinder, Inc.
ABPathfinder, Inc. develops cutting-edge healthcare technology to dramatically enrich the lives of individuals with autism. The cloud-based platform helps educators and therapists craft lesson plans, as well as collect, graph and analyze performance data. By reducing paperwork and administrative tasks, ABPathfinder maximizes the time and effort invested in each child.
For more information, visit http://www.abpathfinder.com.
For ABPathfinder, Inc.:
Susan Muser, Director of Marketing
(816) 803-2856
smuser(at)abpathfinder(dot)com
About FCA Venture Partners
FCA Venture Partners, the venture capital manager of Clayton Associates, was founded in 1996 by R. Clayton McWhorter, founder of HealthTrust, Inc. and former chairman of Hospital Corporation of America (NYSE:HCA), and Stuart C. McWhorter, President and Chairman, to serve as a platform for investing in transformational healthcare and technology related strategies. FCA Venture Partners is focused on healthcare services and information technology businesses in early to growth stages with disruptive, scalable business models, led by strong management teams with sector specific expertise. FCA is led by Managing Partners, Matthew A. King and John R. Burch, Jr. FCA and its affiliates have invested $175 million in over 90 companies to date, resulting in more than $7 billion in annualized revenue.
For more information, visit http://www.claytonassociates.com.