Listen Up: Call for Entries to AI and Voice First Entrepreneurs to Showcase Tech Solutions for People 50-Plus at What's Next Innovation Competition

NEW ORLEANS, March 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- American Idol meets tech entrepreneurs focused on solutions for people age 50-plus at the What's Next Innovation Competition. The event is hosted by Mary Furlong & Associates and sponsored by AARP Innovation Labs during the 16th Annual What's Next Boomer Business Summit held here on April 18. Competition winners have the opportunity to continue to the AARP Innovation Labs national pitch competition in Washington, D.C. later this year.

The competition asks entrepreneurs and start-up companies to showcase how they can improve social connections and empower older adults to live engaging and purposeful lives using artificial intelligence and home-based digital voice assistants known as voice first technology. The criteria for applying to the competition is limited to start-up companies with less than $500,000 in annual revenue or who have raised a maximum of less than $5 million in investor funding. Finalists will be chosen by April 5, 2019 and must be available to present on center stage at the What's Next Boomer Business Summit held at the Hyatt Regency News Orleans Hotel on April 18.  Click here to apply before the March 29, 2019 by 11:59pm PST deadline.  

"The majority of people age 50-plus desire to live as independently as possible and technology can play a role in making that happen," said Andy Miller, senior vice president, Innovation & Product Development for AARP. "We know from AARP Foundation research that social isolation impacts eight million people over the age of 50 and that it can have harmful health effects on people of all ages.  The goal with pitch events like this one is to help identify voice and AI-focused solutions that can help empower people to choose how they live as they age."

Author, entrepreneur and thought leader on aging Mary Furlong, and her visionary What's Next events are one of several local competitions around the country leading to the national AARP pitch event for entrepreneurs focused on solutions for people age 50-plus. Competition winners are voted on by AARP members and event attendees as well as a panel of expert judges `a la American Idol.  

"We were thrilled that last year's What's Next Innovation Competition winner, Embodied Labs, which uses a Virtual Reality (VR) immersive platform and storytelling to create empathy and education of aging issues such as dementia, went on to win the national AARP competition," says Furlong.

The What's Next Business Summit event has gained a reputation for being at the epicenter of thought leaders focused on the $7.6 trillion 50 plus marketplace. Leading businesses, entrepreneurs, nonprofits, authors, analysts, media and marketing experts come together to network and learn. Find more information at: boomersummit.com.

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