Papa Technologies, LLC

Papa Technologies describes itself as a 'grandkids on-demand' platform, connecting college-age students with elderly people to help reduce social isolation.

Founded in 2016 in Miami, FL, Papa began due to a personal need that Andrew Parker, CEO and Founder of Papa, had with his own family; Papa was initially built to support Andrew’s own grandfather. Using a gig-economy approach, Papa Technologies connects students looking for part-time work with senior citizens, providing them with household tasks, taxi services and more. Students who take part undergo training before being matched to a senior citizen, and both parties have access to an app to make requests and manage visits. The service has proven to significantly improve the health of the older people it helps.

In 2019 Papa announced partnerships with large health insurers, including Humana, Aetna and more.

In October 2019, Papa raised $10m in Series A funding, led by Canaan, which will be used to expand Papa's services to a wider group of users, and to also form partnerships with insurance plans and employee benefits providers. The round also included participation from Pivotal Ventures, the VC and incubation company created by Melinda Gates.

The company will expand to 25 states in 2020.

In December 2020 Papa announced the launch of a new healthcare platform - Papa Health. It marks an extension to its Papa Pals proposition, which sees (young) volunteers provide support and companionship to seniors. Arguably this is more pivot than extension, with 'Pals + Health' now described helping users with, for example: navigating the app or help with transport to appointments.

In October 2021 Papa announced it was to partner with Uber Health. The partnership with Uber will see Papa offer transport to seniors, helping them to get rides to decrease isolation and to simplify getting to health appointments.

In July 2023 Papa took steps to enhance security protocols and strengthen background checks following concerns about the safety of elderly seniors.