From Google and Amazon to NewDays: Why These Tech Vets Bet on AI for Dementia

In this episode of Founded & Funded, Madrona Managing Director Tim Porter sits down with Babak Parviz and Daniel Kelly, co-founders of NewDays, a platform purpose-built for older Americans living with cognitive change to help them reclaim abilities, preserve independence, and keep being themselves.

Babak and Daniel share how their experience at Amazon and Google led them to apply AI in the most human way: helping people with dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) with scalable solutions.

They dive into:

• Why we chose to build at the intersection of AI and cognitive health

• How to translate clinical science into accessible daily experiences

• What “meaningful velocity” looks like inside an early-stage company

• How to balance mission-driven purpose with commercial viability

• Lessons learned from scaling startups and building impactful teams

• Why the next wave of generative AI is human-centered, not model-centered

Watch the full episode on the Madrona website.
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