Family.cards, a German startup, which makes cards that connect to a TV and allow elderly people to do things easily online, has secured €1.2 million in seed funding. The round was led by Brandenburg Kapital and OHA Osnabruck Healthcare 7 Ventures. Existing investors, Antler (the European early-stage VC which recently backed Sloyd and Namma Yatri) and Birdhouse, also invested in this round.
The fresh capital will be used to further develop the technology, add third-party apps to the company’s card store, grow the team, and expand into new markets across Europe.
What issue does it address?
As per research, as many as 69 million seniors in Europe are unable to use touch screens because of cognitive, physical, or psychological decline. This prevents them from completing basic tasks, such as booking medical appointments, communicating with their families, or watching video content. Family.cards empowers elderly people to access digital services.
Who is behind the company?
Co-founders Teo Ortega and Simon Hafner, who met during the Antler residency in Berlin, launched Family.cards in 2022. Teo Ortega is a serial entrepreneur who has held several senior roles as product lead at companies such as Citibox, koko, and TheMotion. Simon Hafner has a technology and engineering background, and he spent several years working at Zalando as a software engineer.
Digital services accessible to all
The company has developed a revolutionary system that offers seniors access to a variety of digital services via their television. It offers a simple card system, which is connected to the TV via a card reader, enables intuitive functions such as video calls, sharing photos and videos, playing music and audiobooks, accessing age-appropriate sports exercises, and much more.
The haptic interface is extremely easy to use. It is based on a wireless card reader that can be placed on the coffee table in front of the user. It is as simple as connecting the TV with the HDMI cable, downloading the family.cards app, and placing the card on the card reader. The card reader will automatically connect to the TV.
The subscription package is available in two options – €34 per month and €14 per month. On buying the subscription, one gets a card reader, three cards to start with, and a device that is connected to the TV. Notably, additional cards will be available on the app and the whole setup takes as much as five minutes. For instance, one card lets them do a video call to their family, another card brings up a video streaming service, another card lets them make a doctor’s appointment online, and much more.
“We are very pleased with the trust and support of our new and existing investors,” said Teo Ortega, co-founder and CEO of Family.cards. “This financing enables us to further develop our innovative platform and accelerate the market launch in order to offer even more seniors the opportunity to easily participate in the digital world. With the support of our investors, we are ready to offer our platform nationwide and enable seniors to participate in a new way of accessing digital content.”
Investors’ views
Katja Kühnel, Senior Investment Manager at Brandenburg Kapital, said, “The use of digital solutions by older adults is a prerequisite for demographic change to succeed. However, existing offers are often not appropriately designed for this target group. Family.cards has set out to address this neglected, major need in the market.”
OHA General Manager Jan-Felix Simon, added: “We accompanied the family.cards team in our Healthcare Accelerator and were immediately impressed by the team and their product. The decision to invest was therefore easy for us”
Alan Poensgen, Partner at Antler, stated, “As the most active investor in Europe, we recognise founding teams with serious potential. This is an outstanding founding team which combines a seasoned entrepreneur who has built complex hardware before, together with a technical founder who has worked on some of the hardest technical challenges for one of Europe’s top technology organisations. It is very exciting to work with them as they realise their shared ambition to build technology that has a positive impact on society and improves the lives of older people.”