Disruption in Deathtech Isn’t Optional

When Adair Maynard (our own founder here at MTL) and Bill Simpson published their article on the 4 Waves of Innovation in Deathtech, I found myself nodding along to every single line. Because here’s the truth: deathcare has never been built for grief. It’s been built for paperwork, payments, and protocol.

That doesn’t mean the people in it aren’t compassionate; funeral directors and death doulas are some of the most empathetic professionals you’ll ever meet.

But the infrastructure? It’s designed to process, not to hold space. And that’s why disruption here is past the point of being overdue.

Are you satisfied with the way society currently handles death?

• yes
• no

Disruption in Deathtech is mandatory

Adair and Bill laid out four waves shaping this space: administrative relief, grief support, data with dignity, and memorialization. 

What I love about this framing is that it captures both sides of the story, the urgent, messy logistics and the tender, emotional threads of memory. Because if we’re honest, grief demands both.

• Administrative relief matters because the cruelest part of loss is how quickly you’re forced to make decisions, sign papers, close accounts, and plan ceremonies, all while barely able to breathe.

• Grief support matters because healing isn’t linear, and tech that acknowledges anniversaries and milestones can bridge where traditional structures fall short.

• Data with dignity matters because numbers aren’t cold when used with compassion, they can shape policy, ease operations, and reveal patterns that help loved ones.

• Memorialization matters because love doesn’t vanish at the gravesite. It evolves. It deserves durable, living spaces where stories can continue to grow and be remembered by future generations, creating a legacy of loved ones.

Where MTL fits in

At MTL, we live in that fourth wave—the bonus wave of memorialization that Adair named. Our QR code plaques and curated digital tributes aren’t just tech artifacts; they’re vessels. They’re built to hold voice, humor, stories, and the messy, beautiful details that make a person unforgettable.

What excites me most about this article is how it shows that memorialization isn’t a soft add-on.

It’s core to healing. It’s how we give grief direction, how we transform loss into legacy. And when we combine that with technology done right—tech that amplifies connection instead of replacing it—we move closer to a world where remembrance isn’t an afterthought, it’s an art form.

Keep disrupting

Disruption in deathtech isn’t about moving fast and breaking things. It’s about moving intentionally and repairing things. It’s about designing systems for people who don’t have the energy to advocate for themselves in the painful and hard chapters of their lives. It’s about honoring lives with the same seriousness we honor weddings, graduations, and milestones of joy.

At MTL, we believe grief deserves better infrastructure. Legacy deserves more than bullet points and a box of pictures and memorabilia. Technology, when built with care, can help us get there; it can help us carve out a space to preserve each of our loved ones for eternity.

So to every builder in this space: keep going. Keep disrupting. Because this is the kind of disruption the world actually needs.

Read the full article here.