The AgeTech Collaborative™ from AARP Brings the AgeTech Movement to HLTH USA 2026
- Industry News
- 4 hours ago
- 2 min read
This year at HLTH USA, AgeTech Collaborative™ from AARP is convening the world’s leading innovators, startups, investors, and enterprises to bring more solutions to market that help people live longer, healthier, and more independent lives. The AgeTech Collaborative is expanding its presence in a major way—spotlighting founders, elevating new companies, and bringing together leaders across the longevity and health innovation ecosystem.
The AgeTech Collaborative™ from AARP is an innovation ecosystem focused on bringing solutions to market that help people live longer, healthier, and more independent lives. It connects startups, investors, enterprises, testbeds, and business services around products and services for the 50+ market. AARP describes this as part of the rapidly growing longevity economy, which it estimates at tens of trillions globally. The Collaborative currently includes nearly 700 companies across industries and product categories.
HLTH USA is one of the most important gatherings for healthcare innovation, digital health, investors, payers, providers, and enterprise partnerships—making it a strong fit for AgeTech companies seeking strategic partnerships and visibility beyond the “senior care” category.
Rather than positioning aging as a niche market, the stated goal of the Collaborative is to help founders accelerate go-to-market opportunities and enterprise partnerships rather than simply exhibit, and position AgeTech as mainstream health innovation tied to:
longevity and healthspan
aging in place
prevention and wellness
diagnostics
care management
AI-powered health monitoring
digital therapeutics
social connection and independence
This aligns closely with HLTH’s focus on digital health transformation.
According to AARP Research’s 2026 Tech Trends and Adults 50-Plus report, AI usage among adults 50+ nearly doubled from 18% in 2024 to 30% in 2025, while smartphone ownership reached 90% and average device ownership nearly doubled from four devices in 2016 to seven in 2025. Nearly all respondents (99%) owned at least one tech device, with especially strong interest in AI-powered health monitoring and health guidance tools.
About two-thirds (66%) say technology makes aging easier, but three in five say technology is not designed with their age in mind. Data privacy remains the #1 adoption barrier.
Older adults are not asking for “AI”—they are asking for independence, prevention, personalization, and peace of mind. Age-Tech winners will not be the most futuristic products—they’ll be the brands that make people feel safer, healthier, and more independent.
About half of adults 50+ are either already using or interested in AI-enabled health devices, and 71% are interested in home monitoring systems. The strongest AI interest is not in flashy generative AI—it’s in practical, trust-building applications:
AI-powered health monitoring devices
AI tools that answer health questions
nutritional guidance and wellness recommendations
home monitoring and public safety systems
caregiving coordination
voice assistants like Siri and Alexa
translation and accessibility tools