Built by AXIS AI
Joyelo is the senior-companion product of the AXIS AI companion platform — one platform, focused on one audience first: older Americans who live alone. Joyelo is a small mobile companion — designed to move through the home with the senior, from room to room and floor by floor (one per floor), rather than sit in a single spot. Our research network is led by the University of Toronto, with collaborators at UMass, MIT, and Harvard.
We believe the home is the largest unmet setting in elder care. Hospitals get the funding; families carry the worry. Joyelo is our answer: an AI companion that talks with seniors and helps watch over them, designed for the living room — not the clinic.
The context we're building in
America's 65+ population reached 61.2 million in 2024, and home-based care is the fastest-growing part of the care economy. The senior companion robot category is early — which is exactly why trust, honesty, and real pilot data matter more than marketing.
Three phases, in the open
We publish our plan because families are trusting us with their parents. Dates firm up as the pilot reports back.
Prove it in real homes
- Companion software + pilot hardware
- FCC / UL certification path
- ~1,000 pilot households
- Publish pilot results — engagement, safety, satisfaction
Launch in selected states
- Consumer launch, gift-first
- 24/7 monitoring center online
- Family app and health reports
- Care-organization partnerships
Scale nationally
- Nationwide availability
- Medicare Advantage partnerships
- Multilingual companions
- A financeable evidence pack for payers
Educators, engineers, and one very patient investor
Dr. Ann Cai
Professor of Teaching at Northeastern University; previously taught at Harvard and MIT. A career spent understanding how people learn, age, and stay engaged.
Amy Hou
Former national-media journalist; lecturer in the writing program at UMass Amherst. Leads Joyelo's voice — in every sense of the word.
William Wu
Planning and design institute founder, Boston-based. Backs Joyelo's long game: housing, aging, and the infrastructure of everyday life.
Zeyu Li
PhD in Computer Science, UCLA. Founding member of Robinhood's AI agent team. Builds the conversation engine seniors actually enjoy talking to.
Tengyu Liu
PhD, UCLA, advised by Song-Chun Zhu; senior researcher at BIGAI. Works on the perception that lets Joyelo notice when something's wrong.
AXIS AI Research Network
Robotics and AI research led by the University of Toronto team, with collaborators at UMass, MIT, and Harvard.