Whilst running a US$100m-a-year technology business Paul Statham and his team turned their attention to longevity.
Speaking to Agetech World the London-based entrepreneur took up the story: “ I travel extensively and the only way I could keep in touch with my late mother Kathy, who was suffering from dementia, was through the telephone.
“But an hour’s phone call is not the same for someone who wants people around her more of the time, that resonated with me and so we decided to look at the problem and find a solution.”
This led to the foundation of the home-based technology smart speaker Sentai, which provides domestic companionship and assistance for those of advancing years.
Back in 2021 the Sentai team secured £172,568 from quango Innovate UK and Statham and his team have since invested ‘several million pounds’ of their own money bringing Sentai to fruition.
What is Sentai?
Statham elaborated: “Sentai is a smart speaker which uses AI to communicate and support older adults in their daily tasks. It acts as a digital companion as well as a digital assistant.
Paul Statham
“In the assistant space it will provide daily reminders of tasks and appointments, and from the companion perspective, it will engage in conversation.
“The AI technology available now is truly phenomenal; unbelievably clever. It is able to get to know the person it is talking to and truly does become part of their world.
“Sentai is there to support and help people; it doesn’t take over their lives but works as part of their life. It gets to know people and can play games, deliver medical reminders, or, for example, assist with reminder prompts on things such as ensuring their drinking enough water or getting enough exercise.
“As we age, we need more care, but many elderly people are becoming isolated and spending less time with their families, so we came up with the idea of using this technology to help provide additional support.”
What is the potential of Sentai?
Trials of the first Sentai began over the summer with the company looking to launch in January 2026.
It has a number of primary target markets in its sights with the potential to save taxpayers and home care organisations many millions of pounds.
Statham continued: “There’s the retail/consumer market. We’re selling Sentai through the internet, and other primary marketing channels.
“Then there’s the domiciliary care market; companies and organisations who provide home care for people.
“Sentai is a great help to these organisations and they are potentially prime users of the product as it allows them to provide additional hours of coverage with slimmed-down costs.
“In the UK it’s difficult to find domestic care workers, there are not enough as it is, and demand is set to increase. So the domiciliary care market is a massive opportunity and we are really leaning into this.”
Sentai is working with a number of local authorities delivering home care and it is also currently involved in a trial with an NHS Trust in South East which permits two-way communications between a patient and the hospital.
“When patients leave hospital, if they’ve not got a loved one or a family member to stay with them, then they will take a Sentai home. This will allow the hospital to assess their progress and make sure their needs are being met.
“We’ve got various councils piloting Sentai for assisted living in trials which allow the care providers to monitor a patient’s needs with the view of developing Sentai as a concierge service.”
While some trial users have been found to use Sentai more than expected others have been less verbose, and, so, over time the AI speaker is able to familiarise itself with its user’s personalities and deliver ‘concise’ or ‘chatty’ modes depending on individual preferences.
At £29.50 (US’$39) per month, or £294 (US$387) annually for use of the speaker and app, Sentai’s pricing makes the technology relatively accessible.
Keeping families connected
Statham and his team founded their previous company Condeco Software twenty years ago.
It had developed into a leading global player in workspace management and resource scheduling, effectively ensuring the real estate footprint of a company matched its needs.
As the pandemic shifted workspace requirements Condeco’s software made it one of the leading players in its field.
By late 2022, as the company’s annual revenues topped US$100m, it was sold in a private equity deal for an undisclosed sum, with some of this money now being ploughed into Sentai.
Statham added: “We launched our product because we were thinking of our own loved ones and how we wanted to stay in contact with them.
“That is the DNA of the business. We want to keep families connected and keep older adults relevant and help them live independently for longer.
“If we can help with loneliness and companionship, and help connect families to their loved ones, then that will be an unbelievable success.”
