What is an innovation ecosystem?
Academia
People With
Disabiliites+
Community
Startups
Investors
Corporations
Government
Test Beds
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Innovation is in our DNA
A bit about Perkins
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Past
Innovation at Perkins
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Innovation at Perkins
Present Day
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$13T
Annual
Disposable
Income
1400+ Companies
Valued at $40B in 2030
World’s Largest Minority
(16% of Population)
The Stakes are High
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Assistive
Technology
Inclusive
Technology
Defining DisabilityTech
DisabilityTech comprises all products and services that improve accessibility for people with and
without disabilities.
Adaptive
Technology
$4.1B early stage investments in 2022
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Users are late to benefit from
advances in technology
Innovators face many challenges
The Ecosystem is Underdeveloped
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Challenge 1: Finding Customers for Primary Market Research & User Testing
Barriers to Innovation
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Challenge 2: Daily challenges are largely misunderstood and unaddressed
Barriers to Innovation
106 1
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Innovations that Originated in the
Disability Community
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We are a beacon:
- 1500+ companies
- 400+ equity
investors
- 16% of the global
population
Strengthening the Ecosystem for DisabilityTech
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Research Support Innovators
Amplify
Lived Experiences
Expand Reach
How We Strengthen the Ecosystem
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15
//
Perkins.org
We started
with 1400+
DisabilityTech
Companies
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White Paper
released
September
2023
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1400+ DisabilityTech Company Database, Market Map, Visualizations, White Paper (9/20), Investor Database
Research
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And we are sharing the database!
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Howe Innovation Center: Gaining Traction
Size of the Howe Innovation Center Community, # of community members after major data releases
Impacting Investors & Innovators Impacting People with Disabilities
Impacting all Ecosystem stakeholders
Mar 22
Brought 4 groups of
innovators
to campus
Hosted roundtable at
A11Y Boston
Released accessible
database visualization
June 23 Sep 23
Conducted 30+ primary
research interview
Published whitepaper
on DisabilityTech
sector
Presented at
TechCrunch Disrupt
Facilitated session at
M-Enabling Summit
Met with legislators
in DC
Attended SoCap
conference and met
with Social Impact
Foundations
Oct 23
Presented at
A11Y NYC
Released
Perceptual Market
Map of innovations
for BVI
Press in Boston
Globe
Howe Innovation Center Milestones
Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Dec
Nov Jan Feb
Entered engagement
with McKinsey
Speaking role at
Consumer Electronics
Show
Jan 24
Hosting
#HackDisability: AI for
Accessibility
Hackathon at MIT,
powered by Amazon
Feb 24
Launched
DisabilityTech
collaboration with
MassChallenge
Entered MOU with
Museum of Science
Received major gift
from Amazon
Generated problem
statements for 2024
hackathon
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Howe Innovation Center In the News
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Reminder: Accessibility can put the fun in function
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We are fundraising
$2.5M
to grow the Howe Innovation Center
over the next 3 years