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Tech is taking note of seniors, a group of potential users often dismissed by the industry. And for any of us who have been called to help an older relative with technology, the stereotypes concerning an elder鈥檚 use of technology are familiar.

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But while aging adults aren鈥檛 the target of Silicon Valley鈥檚 latest dating or service apps, trends suggest that aging Americans are on board with their younger counterparts. And there鈥檚 tech being built that caters to them.

Growing Old And Profitable

The senior tech market isn鈥檛 small. According to a 2014 , more than half of Americans over the age of 65 use the internet. However, the learning curve isn鈥檛 smooth for this demographic.

鈥淥lder adults face some unique challenges that other groups don鈥檛 face, and that they do face unique barriers to increase adoption,鈥� Smith, author of the Pew survey, told 附近上门 News. 鈥淎t the same time, once they鈥檙e able to overcome those challenges, we really see them being more receptive to it.鈥�

USC professor Maryalice Jordan-Marsh of the School of Social Work鈥檚 Department of Adults and Healthy Aging鈥攚ho has worked with a team for older adults and the disabled鈥攁grees. 鈥淧art of the dilemma is that some of them try to take a small step and get drowned in it, so it鈥檚 scary.鈥�

The rapidly-growing population of aging tech users has helped launch a wave of software startups catering specifically to this group鈥檚 needs. San Francisco-based companies like and have created platforms aimed to solve the often daunting problems of aging with success.

Founder and CEO Seth Sternberg told us that investors are realizing just how much potential this market holds. The startup, which provides custom home care through skilled caregivers, recently closed a Series C round. It has raised a total of $115 million in funding in just four years.

This makes the company an outlier. Startups aimed at the 65-plus users only attracted about 0.7 percent of venture capital, Sternberg explained. He also admitted Honor 鈥渇ound some obstacles鈥� when funding its Series A back in 2014.

This is a testament to the market鈥檚 rapid growth in its early days, Kevin Nazemi, CEO of Renew, told 附近上门 News. It鈥檚 also a shift away from the typical products the industry鈥檚 young, healthy entrepreneurs churn out. For example, the idea for Renew came from his own parents鈥� frustration with planning for retirement. The task is often bogged down in bureaucratic, antiquated systems, and Nazemi knew an answer to the convolution was building an intuitive software platform to help the aging users navigate this space.

鈥淭his is [the] first generation in history to be comfortable using digital trends, as minor as using emojis or as major as work laptops,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here is an immense opportunity in serving the older population, with the biggest being in the 鈥榩ain-relieving鈥� model.鈥�

As more boomers age in the next decade or so, Nazemi believes even more investors and founders will take notice of this space, helping bring it to the forefront of the Valley鈥檚 focus. For context, the number of people over age 65 is to go from 43 million to 85 million in the next 20 years, and they鈥檒l need more than antiquated Facebook accounts to see them through their 鈥渟unset years.鈥�

Elsewhere, 鈥攁 health technology company based in Melbourne, Australia鈥攊s looking to bridge these tech gaps for older adults, among other neglected groups. Ollie Campbell, a Navy designer who specializes in the psychology behind the products, told 附近上门 News that marginalized groups such as the elderly and disabled are typically a second thought because youth-obsessed Silicon Valley is dominated by young founders. And with hip entrepreneurs, the desire to constantly create fresh, cool products means older users aren鈥檛 always the first market on their mind.

However, Campbell believes there is value in addressing the elderly鈥檚 needs, even if it means a bigger investment in the product.

鈥淚t isn鈥檛 always easy or cheap,鈥� Campbell said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e designed an e-commerce site to make it [more] accessible, and for some features that meant it took 70 percent more time to build things. That鈥檚 a pretty big tax to pay to make something work for a relatively small fraction of your audience. Not everyone can afford to pay for that.鈥�

But involving older adults is the key to catching them up with the future. The more the tech industry pays attention to aging folks and their needs, the closer we鈥檒l get to providing the often-neglected group comfort and knowledge.