Positive Development
Positive Development is a private, McLean-based digital health company delivering family-centered developmental therapy for autistic children (ages 18 months to 9 years) using its proprietary DRBI model, reimbursed primarily through major commercial insurers and Medicaid under value-based contracts across eight U.S. states.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersMclean, United States
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Positive Development does
Positive Development is a private, McLean, Virginia-headquartered healthcare services company founded in 2019/2020 that delivers developmental therapy for autistic children using its proprietary DRBI (Developmental Relationship-Based Interventions) methodology. The company targets children between 18 months and 9 years old and positions itself as a family-centered, play-based alternative to traditional Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy, delivering 6-8 hours of therapy per week in the home setting versus the 30+ hours typical of ABA providers. Its product surface includes virtual autism diagnostic assessments, core developmental therapy, ancillary expert services (speech, occupational, and mental health therapy), 1:1 parent support, the Positive Development mobile application for families, and a separate clinician portal for care documentation and coordination.
The company operates a digital health platform that combines telemedicine for remote autism diagnostics, a mobile app for family engagement (scheduling, recorded therapy sessions, resources), and a clinician portal for therapy delivery and documentation. Payment processing is handled through Paragon Payment Solutions and Square. Services are delivered across approximately 19 clinical locations spanning California, Maryland, Washington D.C., Virginia, Florida, New Jersey, Illinois, and Oklahoma.
Revenue is generated primarily through insurance reimbursements and value-based payment arrangements with commercial health plans and Medicaid programs. The company is in-network with major insurers including Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield (under a national agreement), Aetna, United Healthcare, Cigna, Magellan, CareFirst, Florida Blue, Centene, and Horizon NJ Health. GTM combines enterprise sales to payers, provider referrals from pediatricians, and direct-to-consumer virtual diagnostic access via the company website. The company has raised approximately $143M+ across equity and debt rounds, including a $51.5M Series C in August 2025 led by aMoon and a $45M debt facility in January 2026 from Silicon Valley Bank and Pinegrove Venture Partners, with capital earmarked for national expansion, M&A, and value-based payment model development.
Positive Development firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Positive Development
- Legal name
- Positive Development, Inc.
- Website
- https://positivedevelopment.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- Positive Development is a private, McLean-based digital health company delivering family-centered developmental therapy for autistic children (ages 18 months to 9 years) using its proprietary DRBI model, reimbursed primarily through major commercial insurers and Medicaid under value-based contracts across eight U.S. states.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Positive Development industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Autism Therapy Services
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Child and Youth Services (62411)
- SIC
- Services-Home Health Care Services (8082), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Autism & Neurodevelopmental Early Intervention Programs (EDACAFAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Developmental Therapy / Early Childhood Special Instruction (EDACAFAG), Autism Early Intervention (Educational) (EDAKAKAB), Autism Parent/Caregiver Education & Training (School-Linked) (EDAKAKAJ), Autism (ASD) Support Childcare (HSAAAIAA)
Keywords
Where Positive Development is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Mclean
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices19 records
Markets served
Positive Development business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Insurance Reimbursement and Value-Based Contracts: Positive Development generates revenue primarily through insurance reimbursements and value-based payment arrangements with health plans. Services are covered by major insurance carriers including Anthem, Aetna, United Healthcare, Cigna, Magellan, and Medicaid programs. The company has entered into value-based arrangements that reward outcomes and performance measurement.
- Payer Analysis and Cost-Savings Demonstrations: The company provides cost-analysis data to payers demonstrating its therapy costs significantly less than traditional ABA therapy, enabling value-based contracting and expanded coverage agreements.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Positive Development product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Positive Development provides developmental therapy for autistic children using the DRBI (Developmental Relationship-Based Interventions) play-based, family-centered model, delivered in-home at 6-8 hours per week. The company also offers virtual autism diagnostic assessments, integrated expert services (speech, occupational, and mental health therapy), 1:1 parent support, and a digital platform (mobile app and clinician portal) that supports scheduling, recorded session access, and care coordination.
Product overview
Positive Development operates as a unified healthcare platform offering developmental therapy services for autistic children. The core offering combines virtual autism diagnostics and developmental therapy using the DRBI (Developmental Relationship-Based Interventions) model, delivered through a coordinated care team in home-based settings. The platform includes the Positive Development App for families to access therapy sessions, schedule appointments, and view recorded content, alongside a separate Clinicians Portal for healthcare providers. Ancillary services including speech therapy, occupational therapy, and mental health support are available as integrated modules within the care plan. The company targets children ages 18 months to 9 years old and emphasizes a family-centered, play-based approach requiring significantly fewer hours (6-8 hours per week) than traditional ABA therapy.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Developmental Therapy Services A play-based, family-centered developmental therapy service for autistic children using the DRBI (Developmental Relationship-Based Interventions) model, delivered primarily in the home at 6-8 hours per week. Includes integrated care team with clinical lead and is covered by major insurance plans.
- Virtual Autism Diagnostics Telemedicine-based autism diagnostic assessments conducted from home for children 18 months to 9 years old. Includes standardized assessments, clinical observation, and comprehensive evaluation over a minimum of 2 virtual visits, with no wait time for evaluation.
- Expert Services (Speech, Occupational, and Mental Health Therapy) Ancillary therapy services including speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, and mental health therapy, assigned on an as-needed basis through the clinical lead to support the child's developmental care plan.
- 1:1 Parent Support Services Dedicated one-on-one support with a clinical expert for open, judgment-free discussions about the child's progress, goal achievement, and strategies to strengthen the parent-child relationship.
- Positive Development App Mobile and web application that allows parents to schedule therapy sessions with clinicians, access and review recorded (videotaped) therapy sessions, and view therapeutic videos and content. Available as a web portal and native mobile app.
- Positive Development Clinicians Portal A portal for subscribed clinicians to manage patient care, upload videotaped therapy sessions, and coordinate with families. Clinicians must subscribe pursuant to separate terms of use and enter into a Business Associate Agreement (BAA).
Quantifiable outcome
- Developmental therapy costs 68% lower per member per year compared to ABA therapy
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Positive Development
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Positive Development technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature3 records
Positive Development partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Anthem Blue Cross and Blue ShieldcoreAnthem signed a national agreement with Positive Development to provide developmental therapy services to autistic children. Initially serving members in Virginia in employer-based and individual health plans. The value-based arrangement rewards performance through outcomes measurement, aiming to increase clinical capacity, deliver positive outcomes, and reduce costs. Company plans to expand partnership nationally and pursue Virginia Medicaid coverage.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Positive Development competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Centria Autism: One of the largest U.S. providers of applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy for children with autism, serving similar payers and families through home- and center-based delivery. Directly comparable as an autism therapy services competitor, although Centria is anchored to the ABA modality.
- Hopebridge Autism Therapy Centers: Multi-state operator of autism therapy centers offering ABA, occupational, and speech therapy. Comparable as a scaled, multi-state autism therapy provider pursuing payer contracts, with overlapping service categories even though its core modality is ABA.
- BlueSprig Pediatrics: National ABA therapy provider serving pediatric autism patients across multiple states with center- and home-based care. Comparable in target population, payer relationships, and growth-stage scaling, though methodology differs.
- Cortica: Multi-disciplinary autism care provider combining neurology, ABA, speech, occupational, and developmental therapies. Comparable as a value-based, multi-modality autism provider pursuing payer partnerships and integrated care models.
- Sprout Therapy: Pediatric autism and developmental therapy provider offering home- and telehealth-based ABA with a digital platform. Comparable as a tech-enabled autism therapy competitor, with overlap in payer contracting and digital delivery.
- Catalight (formerly Easterseals Bay Area): Large nonprofit autism services operator providing ABA and developmental therapies, with value-based contracts and parent-support programs. Comparable as a payer-aligned autism provider competing for similar state contracts.
- Invo Healthcare / Invo Behavior & Mental Health Services: Provider of ABA and related behavioral health services across multiple states, including in-home delivery. Comparable as a multi-state autism therapy provider contracting with payers for pediatric services.
Broad incumbents
- BAYADA Home Health Care: Large national home health and pediatric therapy provider serving children with developmental needs including autism. Comparable as a home-based pediatric therapy incumbent, though much broader in scope beyond autism.
- Edenbridge Health / Pediatric Home Service: Complex pediatric home health and therapy provider serving children with medical and developmental needs. Comparable in the home-based pediatric therapy delivery model and payer relationships, though broader than autism-only.
Emerging players
- Kadiant: Autism therapy provider focused on equitable access and value-based arrangements with payers and community organizations. Comparable as an emerging value-based autism care operator pursuing similar payer contracts.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Positive Development social profiles
Digital presencePositive Development financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Positive Development leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Positive Development funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds6 records
Investors11 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Positive Development M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Positive Development
What does Positive Development do?
Positive Development provides developmental therapy for autistic children using the DRBI (Developmental Relationship-Based Interventions) play-based, family-centered model, delivered in-home at 6-8 hours per week. The company also offers virtual autism diagnostic assessments, integrated expert services (speech, occupational, and mental health therapy), 1:1 parent support, and a digital platform (mobile app and clinician portal) that supports scheduling, recorded session access, and care coordination.
Is Positive Development a public or private company?
Positive Development is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Positive Development founded?
Positive Development was founded in 2020. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Positive Development based?
Positive Development is headquartered in Mclean, United States, in the North America region.
How does Positive Development make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Insurance Reimbursement and Value-Based Contracts are the primary driver. The others are payer Analysis and Cost-Savings Demonstrations.
Who are Positive Development's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Centria Autism, Hopebridge Autism Therapy Centers, BlueSprig Pediatrics, Cortica, Sprout Therapy, Catalight (formerly Easterseals Bay Area) and Invo Healthcare / Invo Behavior & Mental Health Services. Broad incumbents are BAYADA Home Health Care and Edenbridge Health / Pediatric Home Service. Kadiant is listed as an emerging player.
Does Positive Development have an API?
No public API is recorded for Positive Development.
What industry is Positive Development in?
Positive Development's product category is Autism Therapy Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDACAFAF, Autism & Neurodevelopmental Early Intervention Programs, with a secondary code of EDACAFAG, Developmental Therapy / Early Childhood Special Instruction. Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 8082.