Overview
The Autism Innovation Lab (AIL) is a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation dedicated to advancing inclusive housing, business, and innovation that directly improves the safety, independence, and quality of life of autistic and intellectually disabled individuals especially those with profound or severe support needs. AIL builds enduring collaborations among families, startups, scientists, and corporations to turn evidence-based research into sustainable, life-changing solutions that serve both the autism community and society as a whole.
AIL is not an accelerator or incubator. We are a long-term innovation and investment lab that partners with mission-aligned startups for the lifetime of their venture. While typical accelerators push startups through short-term programs for quick exits, AIL invests in and supports its subscribing startups for lasting impact that improve daily life for autism families and prove their value over years, not months. AIL is all about:
- Long-Term Startup Subscribers – Founders remain connected through a subscription model, accessing AIL research, social media & storytelling media, executive leadership support, networking & mentorship, AI infrastructure, and pilot services year-round.
- Strategic Investment & Co-Founding – AIL selectively invests in and co-founds
life-saving and transformational startups addressing profound autism needs, including biomedical, diagnostic, and AI-driven innovations. - Evidence-Based Innovation – Every project is grounded in peer-reviewed data and
measurable outcomes focused on AI for communication, therapeutics, and smart care technologies.
Mission
We invest in Autism Healthcare, Safety, Housing, and Quality of Life startups because these are the pillars that unlock independence, dignity, and thriving futures for autistic individuals and their families.
The Autism Innovation Lab is a mission-driven platform at the intersection of autism, innovation, and impact. We’re building scalable, human-centered solutions to real-world challenges in housing, communication, business, employment, education, safety, and daily living for autistic individuals and their families.
Created by deep community roots, nonprofit partners, and industry allies, the Lab is designed to identify, support and scale autism innovations born from lived experience and creative insight. We are now assembling a founding team of co-founders, investors, and innovators ready to put weight, muscle, and power behind bold, inclusive ideas.
Our goal is to cultivate & accelerate just 10 transformational autism startups every year and present the top 3 at our annual autism investment conference in April 2026 with member funded equity/investment offers. Not everyone will win an investment award but all 10 will benefit from the Lab’s synergy, connections & mentorship.
Founder
Our Founder | Shahriar Afshar is an autism Dadvocate, innovation strategist, and social entrepreneur with over 30 years of leadership in public service, nonprofits, and mission-driven ventures. As the Founder of the Autism Innovation Lab, he is dedicated to advancing Autism startup solutions to improve the lives of autistic individuals and their families. His work focuses on turning bold ideas into real-world impact from innovative & inclusive housing projects such as the pilot project in San Diego (www.43blvd.com) to investing in AI driven autism services, therapies & solutions that transform lives.
A father to a nonverbal autistic teenager, Shahriar brings lived experience to every endeavor. He previously served as Executive Director of the Autism Society San Diego, where he launched initiatives like the Autism Dadvocate group to support fathers navigating the autism journey. Shahriar continues to host the AutismSpa.com Podcast, elevating underrepresented voices and innovative thinkers in the autism space and available everywhere you get your podcasts.
Shahriar began his career in government with the City of San Diego and Port of San Diego, leading $500M+ public-private projects. He later founded a D.C.-based trade association to strengthen U.S. global engagement, gaining sponsorship from Fortune 100 companies like General Motors, Caterpillar and ExxonMobil. As a public speaker and media commentator, he has appeared on TV, radio, and national press outlets, known for blending objective policy insights with passionate community centered causes.
As a social entrepreneur, Shahriar launched Evregy to support EV infrastructure and clean tech startups, and through The Afshar Group, continues to lead cross-sector partnerships that integrate public policy, economic development, and social innovation.
He is currently building a pilot autism housing community in San Diego for adults with high support needs, mentoring a new generation of parent-led founders in the Autism Innovation Lab, and serving on nonprofit boards focused on food insecurity, disability rights, YMCA’s and civic empowerment.
Shahriar is also the founding member of the Autism Business Council, a national nonprofit initiative dedicated to transforming how businesses, entrepreneurs, and developers engage with the autism and neurodivergent community. The Council’s mission is to certify autism-friendly businesses, accelerate innovative housing models, and invest in autism parent-led entrepreneurship across every industry, in collaboration with the Autism Innovation Lab & other partners.
If you’re a mission driven autism investor, developer, or parent ready to create transformative change in this ecosystem, Shahriar invites you to join the movement or reach out. He is always available to speak to neurodivergent entrepreneurs, autism parents, siblings or caregivers.
Autism Innovation Lab Advisory Board
Why Us
Redefining What Innovation Looks Like
An Impact Accelerator Built by and for the Autism Community
Most innovation hubs focus on profit and technology. The Autism Innovation Lab is different: it’s a movement, not just a program. We are an impact accelerator that combines lived experience, autism-centered design, and real-world community impact to create solutions that last a lifetime.