Editorial illustration for MIT Grad’s Startup Aims to Make Phones Easier for Older Adults
MIT Grad's Startup Simplifies Phones for Older Adults
Don Yansen didn't go to the MIT AgeLab looking for a business idea. He showed up in 2024 to take part in a study on technology and caregiving for older adults, one of many volunteers asked to talk about what actually works, and doesn't, when aging parents try to use modern devices. What he heard from other participants stuck with him: smartphones with their menus and touchscreens, smartwatches with their tiny displays, all of it built for hands and eyes that assume a certain kind of user.
Yansen, who earned an electrical engineering degree from MIT in 1963 and later a master's in physics from Northeastern, had already run several companies before retiring to care for his wife. The AgeLab session gave him a specific problem to solve rather than a general one. He founded Kiwi Health that October, betting that voice, not screens, was the better interface for a population largely left behind by wearable tech. What he built next says a lot about how that bet plays out in practice.
One such problem: Many older adults “can’t even use a modern cell phone,” he says, “and very few people can use something like an Apple Watch.” So Kiwi Health, which he founded in October 2024, sells a wristband controlled primarily by voice. Wearers can set reminders, make calls, send texts, and share health data, all without navigating screens.
Why this matters
Kiwi Health is a reminder that the AI industry's obsession with touchscreens and wearables has left a huge user base behind. Don Yansen didn't set out to disrupt anything, he just sat in on AgeLab sessions and noticed that people couldn't operate the devices we treat as baseline literacy. For developers and founders building "AI for everyone," that's a real gap: an Apple Watch interface assumes dexterity, vision, and patience that a growing share of the population simply doesn't have. Kiwi Health, founded in October 2024, is betting that simplifying the interface, not adding more AI features, is the actual innovation older users need.
We should treat this as a design signal, not a niche story. Every founder chasing voice assistants or agentic interfaces should ask whether their product works for someone who can't manage a smartphone lock screen. Yansen's MIT engineering background gave him the confidence to "solve difficult problems," but the harder problem here isn't technical, it's listening to users nobody in Silicon Valley usually interviews. Worth watching whether Kiwi Health's approach scales beyond a single founder's conviction.
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Common Questions Answered
What inspired Don Yansen to create Kiwi Health?
Don Yansen was inspired after participating in a study at the MIT AgeLab in 2024 that focused on technology and caregiving for older adults. During conversations with other study participants, he learned that many seniors struggled to use smartphones and smartwatches due to their complex menus, touchscreens, and tiny displays that weren't designed for aging hands and eyes.
How does Kiwi Health's voice-controlled wristband address accessibility issues for older adults?
Kiwi Health's wristband is primarily controlled by voice rather than touchscreen navigation, allowing older adults to set reminders, make calls, send texts, and share health data without struggling with complex interfaces. This voice-first approach eliminates the need for dexterity and vision capabilities that traditional smartwatches require.
What gap in the AI industry does Kiwi Health highlight?
Kiwi Health reveals that the AI industry's focus on touchscreens and wearables has overlooked a significant portion of the population who cannot operate these devices due to physical limitations. The article notes that current interfaces like Apple Watch assume a level of dexterity, vision, and patience that many older adults simply do not possess.
When was Kiwi Health founded and what was Yansen's original intention?
Kiwi Health was founded in October 2024 by Don Yansen, who is an MIT graduate. Yansen did not initially set out to start a business; he was simply volunteering in the MIT AgeLab study to understand technology challenges for older adults and caregivers, but the insights he gained led him to create the startup.
Further Reading
- Eldercare robot helps people sit and stand, and catches them if they fall - MIT News
- AI Assistive Technology Offers Potential to Support Older Adults with Independent Living - MIT Media Lab
- An Accessible Multifunctional System to Support Safe and Independent Aging in Place: Iterative Development and Qualitative Analysis - JMIR Aging
- Technology & the Dynamics of Care for Older People - Daedalus
- Mobile interfaces for caregivers and older adults - DRS Digital Library
