World Autism Awareness Day 4/3/26

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0:57Becky Quick:Bring in show music, please. Hi, I'm CNBC producer Katie Kramer. Today on Squawk Pod. You and amongst others at CNBC, every day is World Autism Day. Chris Mayle started the Autism Impact Fund to invest in companies across life sciences. Five years ago, when we first joined you, there was a dearth of capital. There was no investment capital other than traditional behavioral health. AIF is on its second fund, investing in diagnostics, services, and more. Individuals with autism, 95 % or more have another diagnosis. So as we look at investing, it's not just autism, it's behavioral health, mental health, complex chronic conditions.

1:41Why the private sector is critical for the 3.2 % of children with autism. That's one in 31 kids in America, plus more than 2 % of U.S. adults. The cavalry of the government isn't going to come solve this, and we've proven this through Fund One. A special Squawk Pod begins right after this.

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3:08Becky Quick:Download the latest episode and subscribe at schwab.com slash market update podcast or find Schwab Market Update wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to Squawk Pod from CNBC. The following conversation was recorded live on Squawk Box on April 2nd. Here's Joe Kernan on set with Becky Quick. Today is Autism Awareness Day, World Autism Awareness Day. Our next guest is the co-founder of the Autism Impact Fund. The fund is designed to invest in solutions related to autism, both behavioral and mental health conditions. Joining us now is Christopher Mayle of the Autism Impact Fund. Welcome. It's good to see you.

3:51Great to see you. Thanks for having us back. What's the latest news on more funding for, what is it, a second fund? Or tell us about it. Yes, it is. And before I get into that, I just want to thank you for having us back. It's our fourth year now. And I know you, amongst others at CNBC, every day is World Autism Day. So I really appreciate you all shining a spotlight on the work we're doing and what we're doing. It's made a difference over the years. So appreciate that. And with the families, we see increasing rates continue to see massive challenges here. So we're excited to be here, announce the second fund as well, and continue.

4:27Five years ago when we first joined you, there was a dearth of capital. There was no investment capital other than traditional behavioral health. And we've now seen that shift. And we set out at AIF to be the investment and innovation arm for the community, behavioral health, mental health. and now we're seeing a lot of capital flow into the space. So we finished fund one with 17 portfolio companies, two successful exits, and are announcing today the first close of our second fund. Will it be different in terms of focus? One of the things that we really learned is individuals with autism, 95 % or more, have another diagnosis.

5:08So as we look at investing, it's not just autism. It's behavioral health, mental health, complex chronic conditions, the most common of which impact one in four individuals and represent a trillion-dollar market. So we'll be deploying innovation capital throughout services, tech, and related. I could design 10 funds, I think, depending on which aspect of the issue you want to look for. But in terms of, I don't know, therapeutics, there are some things on the horizon. It's something that works both with the social issues as well as repetitive motion, things that you see, even though it's a wide spectrum.

5:51Those things seem conserved all the way from nonverbal all the way up to very high-functioning individual. You're correct. One thing we know is there's no one type of autism. There's many types of biological forms of it. It is a very wide spectrum. We are seeing therapeutics that are coming out, helping with core symptoms. Another example on the biology side is a company of ours called Mara Bio. They created and commercialized the first biological blood test for a subtype of autism that impacts nearly 20 percent of those diagnosed with autism. That's genetically linked? Or is it gut related? How do you test for it?

6:28The spectrum is so wide. You test through the blood and look for antibodies in the mother. You look for antibodies? Yes. The marker. Yeah, for the markers there. And then another one called Yamo Pharmaceuticals we're involved with as well helps the core symptoms like you're talking about, irritability, behavioral issues. So we're seeing real advances there, especially with what's happening in tech and AI being able to move forward. I mean, some individuals on the spectrum are, you know, there's challenges, but then what they're good at, they could be better at certain tasks or jobs than mainstream people.

7:04And you've got to somehow figure out a way of matching those people with the skills that they have so they can lead great, productive lives and earn a living and everything else. Correct. I mean, that's what I mean. There's 10 different areas that you could focus on. There are. And we see that in employment, as you're talking about. We view, you know, for most, it's a talent opportunity, not a charity opportunity. And we're seeing a shift, especially in tech and AI companies, where they're changing their model. They're looking for different types of employees and hiring a lot of the neurodiverse community because of that superpower.

7:41So it's an exciting time. How do you figure out? As you mentioned, it's a really broad spectrum. You have very talented individuals on one side. You have profound autism on another. How do you decide what to go after? We look at the entire spectrum. So as we look at investing, the core is finding innovation that is delivering better service delivery models, care, precision understanding. So using technology to subtype the groups because it is so broad. So as we're able to subtype, then we're able to have more of an understanding and really help those individuals. Do you ever think about trying to go after probably the biggest problem that every parent with a child with autism thinks about, which is what happens to my child after I'm gone?

8:25Yes. Not just from an independence perspective, but if you're not independent, how do you care for them? We do. And that's where we look across the entire spectrum. And it's all about looking at innovation that is improving outcomes for the to help the families, using technology for precision understanding and better models that are able to provide long time care. And with Mara and some of these other companies, the earlier we're able to detect it or earlier we're able to diagnose, that changes the trajectory of their lives. By getting the proper surfaces, like ABA services or something? ABA is one that's been around for a while.

9:02Another good example of a company we're involved with is Imagine Pediatrics. And this is where you're seeing real capital come in alongside Oak, Optum Ventures and Rubicon. Those are our investment partners. And what they're doing is value-based care, 24-7, virtual first, in-home care that is delivering better outcomes. So that's where we're seeing the shift. It's not just a volume of pushing ABA and service hours. It's truly figuring out where to drive the value, how to improve outcomes, and make the lives better for these individuals. If you do the math, I don't know New Jersey's, what is it for male children?

9:40One out of 40 or something? One out of 31. One out of 31. So do the math. You get to millions very easily. Couldn't there be a REIT or something that has facilities where these people eventually live in communities? Is that happening? It is. I'm part of a nonprofit foundation called Jonathan's Landing, which ties together work, employment and living, all that. So there are opportunities for that. We're seeing them. Not everything falls under the mandate of AIF, and that would be one that's outside of what we do. It'd be outside of what you do. It's outside of what we do, but we're able to partner with them and bring additional capital in to drive those types of opportunities.

10:25Because I could see that that, I don't know how many, you need a lot of facilities if you just do the math. And it wouldn't necessarily be, that would, we would use the term differently able to sometimes, like, what does that even mean? But it's true, differently abled, because it's possible to have great, productive, independent lives. And we can't just look somewhere else and hope it's going to fix itself. It's not. Yes, it's a significant problem. I think one of the biggest takeaways for your viewers and for the community is that while public-private partnerships are key, the cavalry of the government isn't going to come solve this.

11:07And we've proven this through Fund One. But the opportunity is for the private sector to really lead innovation, investment and driving opportunities at scale. And to figure out scalability is the biggest issue. It is. Trying to figure this out more than just a local level. Correct. And that's where private market can come in and really help. The opportunity is growing. Again, five years ago, we saw very little capital. With Fund One, we proved out the thesis. you're able to drive market returns while really driving impact at scale to impact the community. Okay. Chris, thank you. Thank you. We'll see you same time next year.

11:45Thank you again. With more, hopefully, positive stuff. Thanks. Appreciate it. That does it for Squawk Pod for today. Thanks for listening. Squawk Box is hosted by Joe Kernan, Becky Quick, and Andrew Ross Sorkin. Tune in weekday mornings on CNBC at 6 Eastern. To get the smartest takes and analysis from our TV show, right into your ears, follow Squawk Pod, wherever you get your podcasts. Have a great day.

12:11Becky Quick:We are clear. Thanks, guys.

12:23Becky Quick:This episode is brought to you by Schwab Market Update, an original podcast from Charles Schwab. Join host Keith Lansford for this information-packed daily market preview delivered in 10 minutes or less, including projected stock updates, monetary policy decisions, and key results and statistics that may impact your trading. Download the latest episode and subscribe at schwab.com slash marketupdatepodcast or find Schwab Market Update wherever you get your podcasts.