Updated
Updated · Seven Days · Jun 10
Tuktu Launches in Vermont With 300 Sign-Ups for On-Demand Elder Care Support
Updated
Updated · Seven Days · Jun 10

Tuktu Launches in Vermont With 300 Sign-Ups for On-Demand Elder Care Support

1 articles · Updated · Seven Days · Jun 10

Summary

  • Tuktu entered Vermont in February, offering app-based booking for nonmedical help such as rides, meal prep, housekeeping and companionship; 300 residents have signed up, 30 have booked services and about 25 providers have joined.
  • Services cost $25 to $40 an hour, with Tuktu taking a 15% to 25% cut, and the platform uses AI to match clients with vetted local workers—often college students, retirees and part-time service professionals.
  • The expansion builds on Tuktu’s growth in Canada, where founder Rustam Sengupta launched the company in 2022 and has reached nearly 9,000 users across British Columbia and Toronto.
  • Vermont’s demographics underpin the pitch: 23% of residents are 65 or older, more than a quarter of them live alone, and 1 in 4 adults provides unpaid family care.
  • Backers including the Center on Rural Innovation and the Vermont Economic Development Authority helped fund the move with $100,000, as Tuktu seeks statewide adoption and partnerships with hospitals, senior facilities and Age Well.

Insights

As gig worker rights expand, can Tuktu's 'neighbors helping neighbors' model remain profitable without raising costs for seniors?
Does monetizing neighborly help through an app strengthen community bonds or simply create a new market for care?
Can an AI-matched gig worker truly solve the deep-seated 'epidemic of loneliness' for isolated seniors?