Company information, the founding story, and resources for journalists and researchers.
Last updated: April 2026 | Maintained by: Next of Kin
For immediate use — copy this for articles, press releases, or partner pages:Next of Kin is an AI-powered knowledge tool that helps families preserve what they know about a disabled person — and makes that knowledge available to every carer who follows. Caregivers capture personalised knowledge through journals, voice recordings, and guided interviews. Carers access it through a simple chat interface, receiving cited answers drawn directly from what the family shared. Next of Kin adds a personal layer alongside formal care systems — preserving the human knowledge that assessments and care plans have never been designed to capture.
| Founded | 2026 |
| Headquarters | Austin, Texas |
| Website | nextofkin.ai |
| Focus | Families of people with disabilities, particularly intellectual and developmental disabilities |
| Technology | AI-powered knowledge base, RAG retrieval, voice transcription, guided interviews |
| Status | Early access — prototype phase |
| Founder | John Lyle |
| Founding contributor | Evelyn Popper, mother of Ben Popper |
Next of Kin began with a friendship.
In late 2016, John Lyle moved into a building in Brooklyn Heights and handwrote holiday cards for every apartment in the building. That's how he met his neighbour Evelyn Popper and her son Ben.
Evelyn has cared for Ben — who has Smith-Magenis syndrome and is legally blind — as a single mother for his entire life. Ben is now 38. Over years of friendship, John came to understand what Evelyn knows about Ben: knowledge so specific, so personal, and so hard-won that no formal assessment has ever come close to capturing it.
When Ben says “you need the bathroom,” he means “I need the bathroom” — he reverses his pronouns. A carer who knows this can respond in seconds. One who doesn't may miss it entirely. The difference affects Ben's dignity and the entire shape of his day.
In early 2026, John recognised that AI technology could capture exactly this kind of knowledge and make it queryable by future carers. He registered nextofkin.ai and began building.
Evelyn became the founding contributor. Ben is a founding contributor too — if Next of Kin generates revenue, Ben will receive royalties through his special needs trust.
Most care technology is designed for the care system — assessments, care plans, medication records, scheduling. These tools serve vital functions.
Next of Kin serves a different purpose. It captures what only a caregiver knows — the personality, the communication patterns, the joys, the fears, the things that are easy to get catastrophically wrong — and makes sure that knowledge travels with the person being cared for, regardless of how many carers follow.
It is not a replacement for formal care. It is an addition to it.
Every parent of a disabled child is haunted by the same question: what happens to my child's quality of life after I am gone?
The national shortage of paid caregivers is projected to intensify as the older adult population grows. At the same time, carer turnover is high, care transitions are frequent, and the knowledge held by families is routinely lost when caregivers become unable to care or die.
No formal system — not an IEP, not an OPWDD assessment, not a care plan — was designed to capture who a person really is. Next of Kin was.
Next of Kin has submitted an Intent to Apply for the HHS Caregiver AI Challenge (Track 1: AI Tools to Support Caregivers), which offers up to $150,000 in Phase 1 prizes for AI solutions that support caregivers of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Logo and brand assets will be available here once the logo is finalised.
Brand colours:
Typography:
Brand name: Next of Kin — always three words. Never NextofKin.
Tagline: Care like I did.
For press inquiries, interview requests, or research partnerships:
John Lyle, Founder
+1 512 522 2778
We aim to respond within one business day.
Next of Kin involves real people at the centre of it — Evelyn and Ben in particular. Ben has a disability and is identifiable. We ask that any coverage:
We are a small team building something real. We will always make time for journalists who approach us in good faith.