It's a frightening and far too common scenario: One in four Americans age 65 and older falls each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These accidents, which comprise 2.8 million injuries, account for an emergency room visit every 11 seconds. Falls are the leading cause of fatal injury for this population, numbering more than 27,000 deaths every year. No family wants to envision the scenario, even a minor one. After all, older adults often face a tough recovery, and they may avoid social engagements or exercise due to fear of falling again.

Falls are the leading cause of injury among people 65 and older. Approximately 9,500 deaths in older Americans are associated with trips or stumbles each year, and on average, folks between the ages of 65 to 69 suffer a hip fracture one out of every 200 falls. More worryingly, as a result, 20 to 30 percent experience moderate to severe complications that can cause disability. Cherry Labs, a Cupertino startup founded in 2016 by entrepreneurs Max Goncharov, Stas Veretennikov, and Nick Davidov, aims to prevent those sorts of injuries with an artificially intelligent (AI) in-home system -- Cherry Home -- that's able to detect and track users with vision sensors and microphones. It today announced a $5.2 million funding round led by GSR Ventures, which it says will fuel a pilot program set to kick off in the coming weeks with TheraCare, a caregiving service, and TriCura, a tech platform that uses mobile apps to capture and share information among families, caregivers, and agencies. Cherry Home officially launched in October, and is currently testing with 15 families in the Bay Area.