Taiwanese Founder of AI-Powered Children's Teletherapy Startup Nominated for Global Healthcare Award
Dr. Amy Kwok, Co-Founder & CEO of PenguinSmart, an AI-assisted rehab therapy company founded by Harvard and MIT alumni and backed by a platinum-tier Silicon Valley accelerator, has been nominated for the prestigious Top 100 Healthcare Visionaries Award at the International Forum for Advancements in Healthcare (IFAH) 2021.
The Top 100 Healthcare Visionaries Award includes nominees from all healthcare fields globally, including the discoverers of new drugs and medications, creators of innovative treatments and surgeries, and movers and shakers in improving healthcare systems at scale.
PenguinSmart originated from the MIT Media Lab and now leads the rising demand for telehealth, which has only accelerated due to the pandemic.
"We are encouraged and delighted to be among those nominated, especially during this COVID time, in which many healthcare heroes and heroines have risen and inspired the world," commented Dr. Kwok.
The company is enabling intelligent, individualized rehab therapy for all, starting with online speech and language therapy support for children. Their team, with a diverse background in healthcare, rehab medicine and technology, combines the latest data sciences with expert insights to empower caregivers to become a key part of their loved ones' rehab journey.
The future of high-quality pediatric rehab support
PenguinSmart's online platform & services use machine learning as well as licensed professionals to help caregivers (family members or nannies) create daily habits to rehabilitate delayed speech & language. These empowered caregivers can practice with their children whenever and wherever, and they may even be more effective than professional therapists in some instances.
"We envision a future in which technology democratizes high-quality pediatric rehab support and gives every child a chance to reach their full potential in life. By helping families discover and address communication delays early, we can change their life trajectory and the trajectory of a society, creating a new future in which caregivers are given peace of mind and relief from the previously suffocating pressure and isolation of having to care for a developmentally delayed child. We see a future in which the burden on health providers and systems is lightened to provide high-quality care more easily and broadly. What we are enabling is the dream that early intervention thought leaders and policy makers have longed for in the past few decades, but is now possible with technology," notes Dr. Kwok.
PenguinSmart currently focuses on serving the 1 in 6 families worldwide with developmentally-delayed children, with special focus on the 32 million families in China.
Why Taiwan
Originating from Silicon Valley, PenguinSmart was one of the first startups in 2018 invited into the newly-opened Taiwan Tech Arena in Taipei, which is backed by the Ministry of Science & Technology. The company's landing was additionally supported by SparkLabs Taipei and BE Healthcare Accelerator, two leading Taiwanese accelerators. Leveraging Taiwan's strong healthcare system, trained pool of highly qualified speech language pathologists, and top tech talent, PenguinSmart has been able to strengthen its foundation for growth both in Asia and globally. Due to the company's social mission and her own Taiwan and Silicon Valley roots, Dr. Kwok is representative of the new wave of Taiwanese social impact entrepreneurs studying and starting companies from abroad, and as they land and grow their companies in Taiwan, they bring not only new jobs but also new ideas and inspiration to the local communities. She was recently invited to share her experience as the inaugural speaker for Taiwan Tech Arena Silicon Valley's new webinar series inspiring Taiwanese to chase their Silicon Valley dreams.
Silicon Valley Roots
In addition to being named by Disruptor Daily as one of the 10 companies disrupting childcare, PenguinSmart become one of the first 10 startups selected from 400+ candidates globally to be part of Alchemist Accelerator's Batch 20. Rated as a platinum-tier startup accelerator in Silicon Valley, Alchemist is known for helping startups thrive in the B2B world and for the large fundraising raises of its graduates (on average twice that of Y-Combinator grads).
The final list of the Top 100 Healthcare Visionaries 2021 will be presented at the IFAH in Las Vegas, USA, in June. IFAH, previously known as 'Smart Health', is a global healthcare conference that brings together health and wellness professionals to discuss vital concerns and explore the opportunities of building the future of the sector.
