Four years ago, Winter Park resident Chris Male’s 3-year-old son was diagnosed with autism. At the time, Male was familiar with the term autism but didn’t know much more about the neurological and social disorder.
After the diagnosis, Male set out to find the services and help his son needed. What Male encountered instead were antiquated services, long wait lines and hefty price tags, he told Orlando Inno. “What I found along the way of trying to get some help was this polarized and fragmented marketplace and community.”
That’s what inspired Male to co-found the Autism Impact Fund in 2020. The fund — headquartered in New York, San Francisco and Winter Park — aims to be the investment and innovation arm for autism spectrum disorder and related conditions. It does so by investing in startups across the country that can revolutionize diagnosing, treating and living with autism.
Even as the venture capital sector is cooling, the Autism Impact Fund is bringing in dollars for more deals. A June 13 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed the fund raised $24.8 million in new capital, though Male said that figure is “a fraction of what we can raise and deploy.”
Influence beyond the checks
Since 2021, the Autism Impact Fund has invested in 10 companies. The fund hasn’t disclosed how much money it deployed in those investments, but Male said it’s focused on companies raising their seed or Series A rounds.
The capital deployed into those 10 startups only represents about half of its funds, and Autism Impact Fund remains active on the fundraising trail, Male added. However, he said the fund may become more active during the rest of this year as company valuations come down.
So far, the fund hasn’t invested in any Florida companies, but it has looked at a few deals in the Sunshine State.
Plus, the fund in April announced an investment in Cortica, a San Diego-based company with Central Florida connections. Cortica, a network of centers providing treatment plans for neuro-developmental conditions including autism, was co-founded by CEO Dr. Neil Hattangadi, who grew up in the area and attended Winter Park High School.
Cortica last year raised $60 million in financing from other investors, and Hattangadi admits the Autism Impact Fund is far from the company’s biggest funder. However, the fund’s focus on the autism medical space, and the network of emerging technology it has access to through its portfolio, gives it value far beyond the cash it offers startups, Hattangadi said. “They’re the only fund that knows this space so well. They have an influence beyond the checks they write.”
As part of its deal with the fund, Cortica’s centers will act as a place for Autism Impact Fund portfolio companies to validate, test and eventually commercialize their innovations. Meanwhile, Cortica is eyeing an entrance into the Florida market after it enters Massachusetts this year, Hattangadi added. “It’s not going to be long before we wind up coming.”
VC outlook
After a record year in 2021, venture capital activity across the country is slowing. U.S. companies raised a collective $70.7 billion in the first quarter this year. That was down from $95.4 billion in Q4 2021, but up from $32.7 billion in Q1 2021, according to PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association.
In metro Orlando, companies collectively raised $42.3 million from seven investment deals in Q1, down from $69.7 million raised in the fourth quarter and $70 million raised in Q1 2021.
While there is plenty of dry powder for investors to deploy in 2022, global economic uncertainty means venture capital activity will slow, according to KPMG’s Venture Pulse Report. “Deal speed, however, could slow as VC investors conduct more due diligence related to potential deals. VC investors likely also will renew their focus on late-stage deals, which could create challenges for startups looking to attract seed and early-stage investments.”
Venture capital dollars are important for early-stage tech companies. They help those firms scale and forge critical connections in their industries, which, in turn, can lead to the creation of high-wage, local jobs and solutions for other businesses.
To learn more about the Autism Impact Fund, check out its website here or contact Chris Male at chris@autismimpact.fund.
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