Adaptive products — often “one of a kind” tech — are considered niche, despite their necessity for swaths of people globally. At large, assistive technologies can be in a regulatory limbo for years before they get into the hands of medical professionals and then in the hands of consumers, and insurance companies have more say than many would like. That makes succeeding in this industry more complicated and higher-risk than other tech sectors, explains Sarah Thomas, founder and CEO of accessibility consulting firm Delight x Design and an advisor in age tech — the new term for human-centered technologies designed to serve and adapt an aging population.Compared to new laptops and gaming consoles, accessibility tools are “a need to have, not a nice to have,” said Thomas. Even in a world without additional economic constraints, accessibility tools and assistive technologies are already shockingly high-priced. Power wheelchairs, for example, can range from a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars. Hearing aids run between $1,000 and $4,000, on average. New technologies are even steeper, and financial assistance or insurance reimbursement is never assured.
..Medtech founders like [Neil] Weinstock and [Tim} Balz start their businesses already battling pricing and access. Many are now encumbered by staggering import fees, as well. Thomas spoke of a startup specializing in dementia support products that’s currently paying out a $30,000 tariff bill just to order more inventory — without having made any sales. Other tech companies in Weinstock’s circle have faced million-dollar tariff bills as their stock is held at the country’s shipping ports, despite desperately attempting to shift manufacturing domestically. Similarly, a manufacturing colleague of Balz had to lay off staff to afford seven-figure costs related to shipping containers.
In ncurring even more additional costs from tariffs means these companies must choose between “eating” the differences or alienating even more consumers with higher unit prices. That can sink a startup quickly.
“We have no idea just how much our costs are going to be because of the tariffs,” said Weinstock. Soliddd’s product is partially manufactured in the United States, but they also use Qualcomm chips from third party manufacturers, and proprietary pieces that are imported from other countries, like Japan. “I’ve had a long career doing hardware, and I see that hardware has just gone away in the United States,” he said.