Cognoa Secures $11.6M Funding to Advance First Machine Learning-Based Tool for Pediatric Developmental Disorder Screening

VCBeat has learned that Cognoa recently secured $11.6 million in venture capital, led by existing investor Morningside, bringing the company’s total funding to $20 million. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California—a hotspot for startups—the company’s core business is an application designed to assess children’s healthy development. The proceeds from this round will primarily be used to conduct additional validation studies for its FDA submission pathway and to expand sales channels targeting pediatricians, corporate employers, and insurance companies.

Cognoa’s mission is to make developmental assessments for children accessible to everyone. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children undergo multiple screenings to determine their risk for developmental disorders such as autism; however, a recent CDC report indicates that fewer than half of children receive such evaluations when early signs of these conditions are first identified. In response, Cognoa’s founders developed an application at Harvard and Stanford University Schools of Medicine, providing parents with a free and convenient way to conduct these assessments.

How Does Cognoa Work? By analyzing information provided by parents and routine videos of the child’s behavior, Cognoa employs machine learning algorithms to assess whether the child is developing at an appropriate pace, thereby determining if their behavioral development is healthy.

Reporters learned that the app is designed for children aged 18 months to 7 years. While it does not provide diagnoses, parents can pursue in-depth diagnostic evaluations through pediatricians. The company has completed several clinical validation studies, and the app has been adopted by 300,000 families.

“The trend of using Patient-Reported Outcomes (PROs) in conjunction with machine learning technologies to aid diagnosis is growing exponentially in the healthcare sector, with Cognoa leading the way in the assessment of developmental and behavioral conditions,” said Dr. Isaac Cheng, Head of Morningside Ventures. “We believe Cognoa can significantly raise the standard of care for pediatric behavioral development and are committed to the early diagnosis of developmental delays in children through the first machine learning-based diagnostic technology to achieve clinical validation and FDA approval.”

Cognoa has also recently launched a dedicated platform for employers, designed to help working parents access support as part of broader corporate wellness benefits programs. This translates to lower costs for parents and “fewer distractions” while they are at work.

Brent Vaughan, CEO of Cognoa, stated in a press release: “Our goal is to improve family life while assisting clinicians in providing early diagnoses to help enhance children’s health. Cognoa’s next phase of growth will involve not only additional clinical validation and FDA approval but also partnerships with employers and insured health plans to provide clinically validated assessments and child development support platforms to employers.”