Positive Development, the leading provider of developmental therapy for autistic children and their families, today announced the close of $51.5M in Series C funding. New Investor aMoon co-led the round with existing investors B Capital and Flare Capital Partners, and continued participation from Digitalis Ventures, Healthworx, the innovation and investment arm of CareFirst Inc. and others.
Positive Development is the only autism care provider delivering developmental therapy at scale, positioning the company as the clear leader in this fast-growing category.
The autism care market faces a crisis. Costs are climbing as autism diagnoses increase, with traditional, intensive Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) interventions for autistic children costing $50,000 to $70,000 per child per year (before adding speech, occupational therapy and/or any other healthcare needs). At the same time, health plans are seeking innovative, value-based care options that better serve families.
Positive Development’s model is built on Developmental Relationship-Based Interventions (DRBI): a family of relationship-centered approaches grounded in developmental science and academic research. Positive Development’s model integrates speech, occupational and mental health therapies with technology and real-time data to improve care quality and parent experience. Unlike traditional autism therapy, DRBI therapies are lower intensity by design, delivering measurable outcomes in fewer hours and at a lower cost. On average, the cost of Positive Development’s care model is 50% less than a comparable ABA program.
“Positive Development’s ability to improve outcomes and reduce the total cost of care is directly aligned with aMoon’s mission to partner with exceptional companies who are advancing solutions that will transform healthcare and help people live healthier, better lives,” said Dr. Tomer Berkovitz, Managing Partner at aMoon. “Their unique developmental therapy model brings accessibility and affordability to systems in desperate need of change, and their extensive partnerships with payers and Medicaid programs showcase their success. We look forward to partnering with the team to help the company expand and scale to serve more families.”
“This funding allows us to continue expanding a model that’s working for families, providers and payers,” said Mike Suiters, Co-founder and CEO of Positive Development. “As the nation’s leading provider of developmental autism care, we’re focused on making high-quality, relationship-based support more accessible and affordable. We’re grateful to aMoon, B Capital, and all our investors for helping us move this important work forward.”
Positive Development will use the funds to grow its DRBI-based care model by expanding within new and existing markets, investing in new health plan and state Medicaid partnerships, and advancing its proprietary technology and AI platform that improves upon the efficiency, experience and quality of care.
“Autistic children and families deserve affordable options that are tailored to their unique strengths and challenges, and our healthcare system needs options that don’t break the bank,” said B Capital Partner, Adam Seabrook. “Positive Development’s relationship-based, developmental therapy approach and alternative payment model are the future of autism care, and we’re excited to help the company continue to build out these important services to make care more accessible and affordable.”
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