1 in 36 kids have autism. Here’s how to solve the tech funding gap
Vanessa Castañeda Gill just got back from speaking on a panel at the ASU + GSV Summit, one of the world’s largest education conferences held in San Diego. She was in good company on stage with Dan Feshbach, the then-CEO of Multiple, and a handful of education and workforce innovators, leading an honest discussion about how to empower neurodiverse and disabled individuals at school and in work.
Passionate and well-informed, Vanessa is a self-described autistic advocate, and is clear on what needs to happen to scale technology solutions to better support the autistic community. It’s why she founded and is CEO of Social Cipher, a neurodivergent educational gaming startup. She also serves on the board of Multiple, an autism nonprofit innovation platform that connects entrepreneurs, investors, and community members in pursuit of the most promising innovations for autism, then helps bridge the funding gaps through private and philanthropic capital. Vanessa’s company was in the first cohort of Multiple’s accelerator.
The autism supports market is expected to surpass $3 billion by 2029. At the same time, rates of autism are rising, thanks to better detection mechanisms, awareness, and the rise of the neurodiversity movement. One in 36 children are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in 2020, up from one in 150 children in 2000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Globally the autism community surpasses 85 million people, making the market for tech-enabled ASD education, healthcare and technologies more critical than ever.
We spoke to Vanessa about her company, the power of video games and how she’s helping Multiple catalyze autism innovations that can scale in what can be a complex and fragmented market.
How did you get into the autism investing space?
When I was diagnosed with autism and ADHD at 14, stereotypes led me to believe I was broken. I kept my diagnosis a secret for six years out of fear or being judged, and closed myself off to emotions because I was convinced that I’d never be able to connect with others. That led to years of anxiety, depression and low self-esteem. Over the years, I learned how to interact in my own way through the stories in my favorite music, movies and games. I also became a neuroscience researcher, and through following my passions, I was able to find an amazing community of people that accepted me for who I was. I ended up putting my research experience and personal experience to start Social Cipher. After years of being ashamed of who I was, I finally knew that I never needed to be fixed; I just needed different tools to learn and thrive. I started Social Cipher to make sure every young person finds that truth. Today, our 40% neurodivergent team builds games and software to empower and educate neurodivergent youth and the professionals who work with them, and we’re now in 220 schools and therapy centers in six countries and counting.
What are the top funds looking to invest in high-growth autism solutions?
There are a few. There’s the Disability Opportunity Fund, Autism Impact Fund, Difference Partners, Divergent Ventures, Enable Ventures, K Ventures, Arc Capital Development, and others. They invest in some startups that have met private investor criteria, but there are many more promising companies that have the potential to help a tremendous number of people. We still need philanthropic capital to move these companies from their pre-revenue early stages and toward becoming viable contenders for venture capital, whether it be from donor-advised accounts, family offices, foundations, grants, corporations or individuals. Multiple just announced a $250,000 grant from the Gula Tech Foundation to scale neurodiversity hiring in cybersecurity.
You also spoke on stage in March at the South by Southwest Education conference. What was that like?
It was exactly the opportunity I was hoping for and looking for. We want to demystify autism and the autism landscape in as many places and to as many people as possible. I talked about the need for social-emotional learning games for neurodivergent youth ages 10 to 15, and how Social Cipher is now working with The LEGO Foundation to drive social emotional learning through the power of video games for 30,000 neurodiverse youth by the end of 2024. I was on stage with a fellow founder Vijay Ravindran, the CEO of Floreo, who created a virtual reality platform for K-12 that teaches social, behavioral, communication and life skills to those on the spectrum. The other person on the panel was Tony Wan at Reach Capital, which is a VC in early-stage edtech.
What problem is your company solving?
Until Social Cipher, there were no games to help neurodiverse youth see themselves positively and find their place in the world. Our game and curriculum are not based around teaching kids how to emulate neurotypical behaviors and rewarding them for their ability to assimilate. Instead, we believe that developing social emotional learning skills helps youth develop a healthy sense of self as a neurodiverse individual and construct positive boundaries.
We want neurodiverse youth to feel respected for who they are, while also learning techniques for recognizing and communicating their own needs, even when everyone’s communication style may be different. That’s why we don’t encourage masking or erasing of neurodiverse traits in our characters or players. We also utilize identity-first language in our game and written materials, and use the framework of the social model of disability to inform our intentions as a company.
Our premier game, Ava, is a role-playing platform adventure that follows an autistic star mapper as she works through social challenges with space pirates, battles self-doubt, and finds community. Our adventures provide youth of all neurotypes a judgment-free space to try out social situations and emotional responses.
What are some areas outside of K-12 education that are on Multiple’s horizon?
Employment is an area Multiple is super interested in. There are a lot of solutions on the HR side for training and education in the workplace. Mentra is a great example of a company that we've supported and is doing amazing work. One co-founder is on the spectrum and the other has a deep connection to autism. Augmentative communication devices (AAC) for non-speaking individuals is also a massive opportunity. Independent living is another huge concern for parents throughout their child’s life, and they’re looking at solutions that can best support someone, like NFlyte, for example, which is a life skills app enabling young adults to leave home while staying connected to their families.
The beauty of what Multiple is doing is giving people the opportunity to create that one thing that could be life-changing for someone.
Autism is a market that we don't know enough about; there are no insights. So even investors who really want to invest in the space for impact or personal connection reasons, there’s no understanding of where or how an innovation could be a viable investment right now. Multiple is looking at the high level of where there are gaps in innovation and gaps in funding. They are also looking out for areas where the community is over-creating and over-investing in solutions that already exist. Looking at it from that lens has the power of a true systems change.
What are the specific challenges in convincing venture capital investors to take a closer look?
Autism is such a fragmented and disconnected space. There are all of these sectors working in silos rather than communicating and understanding kind of what is happening and where that viability exists. Because of that, founders and problem solvers are not connecting to or getting visibility to mentors, let alone funders. And there's a huge, huge disconnect in terms of what a traditional investor needs to see and the actual potential or promise that an early-stage company has. One of the things Multiple is doing is building out a database of more than 500 early-stage innovators and their startups, and more than 450 investors. They’re connecting these entrepreneurs to mentoring, fundraising and go-to-market support through this database. They also have an impact accelerator and host events like their investor showcases. They’re building that bridge between these two worlds of operations. They’ve helped startups like mine, and others like Hiki, Floreo and LifeSherpa connect to funding so they can scale.
Multiple’s next accelerator is open to founders. What can startups gain if selected?
This is Multiple’s third cohort and applications close June 9. They’re looking for committed startups that are targeting the needs of the autism community. They’ll select 10 companies to participate in our 12-week program, and will have expert speakers and workshops, personalized mentorship and messaging and pitch coaching. The program finishes with an accelerator showcase that’s attended by investors. The first two cohorts raised over $7 million in private funding. The accelerator is 100% equity free, meaning all funding decisions are made through Multiple’s investor network.
If you're a school administrator or mental health professional interested in using Social Cipher to drive social emotional learning for your students ages 10-15, you can learn more and demo here.