Lily Vittayarukskul was pursuing a degree in aerospace engineering when her aunt was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer. Having lived with Vittayarukskul during her upbringing, her aunt played a significant role in her life. The family devoted themselves to her care, as recalled by Vittayarukskul.
After undergoing chemotherapy, Vittayarukskul’s aunt became increasingly frail. This necessitated the family, originally from Cambodia, to manage her daily long-term care needs for approximately two and a half years. The experience was financially devastating for them, as shared with StartupSuperb.
The significant emotional and financial toll motivated Vittayarukskul to shift her academic focus toward genetic and data science.
She eventually established Waterlily, a San Francisco-based startup that has been operational for four years. Waterlily is dedicated to assisting individuals and financial advisors in navigating long-term care options by modelling costs and funding strategies. According to Vittayarukskul, its primary objective is to simplify the process for financial advisors and insurance agents when recommending appropriate financial products tailored to a family’s anticipated long-term care requirements.
Vittayarukskul explained that many individuals tend to consider long-term care when they are between 65 and 70 years of age or only when the need arises. However, this timing can often be too late for adequate preparation.
Waterlily leverages artificial intelligence to forecast a family’s potential future long-term care requirements and associated costs. It then provides guidance on constructing a care plan and identifying suitable payment options, as stated by Vittayarukskul. This may involve acquiring life insurance with a long-term care rider, obtaining a dedicated LTC policy, utilising annuities, or opting for self-funding.
The predictive AI of Waterlily is applicable to any individual over the age of 40.
The company draws from over 500 million data points and employs machine learning algorithms through its AI modelling software to create highly tailored predictions regarding care needs and costs. The aim is to accurately estimate the “when,” “how,” and “how much” of potential long-term care requirements.
Vittayarukskul mentioned that the team has established formal data-sharing agreements with long-term care providers, government databases, academic research studies, and individual users, including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program. They are also finalising similar agreements with insurance carriers to securely integrate their anonymised data.
Initially, Vittayarukskul launched Waterlily as a solo endeavour until Evan Ehrenberg, an angel investor, joined the team. Ehrenberg, who previously founded and sold Clara Health, contributed to early research and was captivated by the industry’s response. His own testing of the platform revealed surprising long-term care predictions that led him to change his diet, engage a personal trainer, and revise his financial plans.
This experience prompted Ehrenberg to delve further into the matter. He recognised similarities between long-term care challenges and issues faced in clinical trials. While Clara Health had aided numerous patients in finding clinical trial opportunities, he noted that many sought these trials not for groundbreaking treatments but rather for generic alternatives due to insurance limitations on name-brand medications. The revelation about long-term care — where health insurance typically does not provide coverage — highlighted the lack of preparedness for many individuals regarding the financial implications, as noted by Vittayarukskul.
After collaborating for six months, both parties recognised a strong synergy and welcomed Ehrenberg as a co-founder, as mentioned by Vittayarukskul.
Ehrenberg’s own background is noteworthy: he graduated from UC Berkeley at the age of 16 and became MIT’s youngest neuroscience Ph.D. Presently, he holds the position of Chief Operating Officer at Waterlily.
Standing out in a complex field
While several tools exist to assist with long-term planning, Vittayarukskul maintains that Waterlily offers a more personalised solution. For instance, Genworth’s cost of care calculator provides averages based on zip codes. Meanwhile, platforms like NaviPlan, eMoney, MoneyGuidePro, and RightCapital function as broader financial planning resources, including basic long-term care modules or cost calculators within multiple functions.
As stated by her, while those tools aid advisors in modelling retirement and insurance scenarios, their long-term care assumptions are predominantly based on national averages or Monte Carlo simulations that introduce variables into a fundamental simulation. In contrast, Waterlily combines sophisticated predictive modelling with a user-friendly interface.
Launched publicly in March 2024, Waterlily has yet to accumulate year-over-year metrics. However, Vittayarukskul shared with StartupSuperb that the startup’s monthly recurring revenue (MRR) has increased over 22 times since its initial month post-launch. Additionally, the average month-over-month MRR growth has been recorded at 58% since the platform’s debut.
Currently, the company serves eight major enterprise clients, including Prudential and several Fortune 100 insurance carriers. Furthermore, hundreds of independent financial advisors and insurance agents are already utilising Waterlily. Its revenue model operates on a Software as a Service (SaaS) basis, charging $250 per advisor or agent per month.
Recently, the startup secured $7 million in seed funding, spearheaded by John Kim, founding partner of Brewer Lane Ventures, with strategic backing from Genworth, Nationwide, and Edward Jones. Prior to this, Waterlily raised a $2.2 million pre-seed round that included investments from Scott Barclay, managing director of healthcare at Insight Partners.
The newly acquired capital, raised via a SAFE, is earmarked for enhancing its engineering, data science, and enterprise management teams, as well as for further strengthening its AI models and data partnerships. Plans are also in place to expand sales and marketing initiatives.
At present, the startup employs nine full-time staff members, in addition to contractors.
Looking forward, Waterlily is exploring services related to disability, critical illness, hospital indemnity, and Medicare planning, essentially focusing on areas where advanced predictive modelling can assist families in making informed life and health coverage choices, as stated by Vittayarukskul.
The firm is also experiencing interest from insurance providers considering the utilisation of its data for underwriting purposes. Additionally, expansion into international markets such as Canada, the UK, and parts of Asia may be on the horizon.
Investor Kim, who previously served as president of New York Life, expressed to StartupSuperb that he invested in Waterlily because he views it as the first AI-native guidance tool designed to meet the substantial needs of an ageing American population.
He remarked that long-term care insurance represents a significant and expanding necessity, currently lacking adequate support from trusted advisors. Waterlily’s guidance tool, offering customised and personalised recommendations for long-term care requirements, stands out in the marketplace and could fundamentally transform the long-term care insurance sector.
