A happy woman is sitting among flowers and watering them. Smiling girl is worried about herself and her future. … [+]
As Pitchbook points out, femtech was once an overlooked area of the health tech market, but it’s now receiving serious attention from venture capitalists. Increasing awareness of women’s unique healthcare needs is driving consumer demand for related health and wellness products. According to Statista, the femtech market has expanded significantly in recent years and is predicted to grow to $103 billion by 2030. This increased awareness has led to more VCs investing in femtech to tap into underserved segments. Investments that address women’s health disparities have the potential to add years to life and years, and boost the global economy by $1 trillion a year by 2040.
There’s still a lot we don’t know
Mila is a San Francisco-based hormone health company that pushes the boundaries of women’s health, providing integrated care and hormone testing to more than 130,000 customers. In 2023, the company was recognized by Inc. 5000 as the fastest growing femtech company in America, and in 2024 by Fast Company as one of the most innovative companies.
Mira’s breakthrough was inventing the only FDA-compliant home fertility monitor with quantitative technology. Since 2015, Mira has been on a mission to provide data-driven hormonal health solutions to empower women to make informed decisions at every stage of life, from menstruation to menopause. Masu.
Sylvia Kang, Founder and CEO of Mira, said: “We’re excited to see where Mira goes. We have some ambitious plans in the works, and it’s no longer just about fertility. Soon, Mira’s testing capabilities will extend beyond sex hormones. Users will be able to track stress, cortisol, testosterone, ketones, and more from home using the same device.”
Kang said Mira is focused on filling research gaps in women’s reproductive health, noting that there is still much we don’t know in this field. They partner with fertility experts, gynecologists, and scientists to collect meaningful data from real users. This research has the potential to shape the future of health care for women and people with ovaries. Additionally, they are exploring the potential for expansion into androgenetic health, which provides an exciting avenue for further innovation.
Women’s health has many problems to solve
Some funds, like Foreground Capital, focus specifically on women’s health. The founding team of Elizabeth Bailey, Stasia Obremskey, and Alice Zheng is building on the track record and ongoing management of RH Capital’s Funds I and II to bring a new level of innovation, equity, and impact to the sector. Alice Jen said: “Through these two funds, we manage approximately $43 million and have made 22 investments in women’s health.”
Foreground Capital seeks companies that are driving significant changes in healthcare standards or making healthcare more accessible, especially in underserved communities. In previous funds, Foreground Capital focused on women-specific situations. Now, they are increasing their investments in areas that disparately and disproportionately impact women. Alice Jen explains: “Women’s health is diverse. Some issues require new science, so we are focusing on innovations in diagnostics, treatments, and devices. Other challenges involve access to care. Therefore, we are exploring telemedicine and even consumer health solutions.”
Bringing care closer to home
Laura Mason, Growth Investor at Composition Capital, talks about what the fund is most excited about and the upcoming trends in women’s health to expect in the near future. “We’re very excited about solutions that can bring care closer to home, and I think women’s health is a great example of that for a variety of reasons.”
Laura explains that there is a supply-demand mismatch and imbalance between the number of healthcare providers (OBs, endocrinologists, etc.) available to treat patients and the actual market size. As a result, there is more pressure on women to understand what they need to do. Examples include managing menopause and fertility issues. She added: “The market is really growing, and as growth investors we are always looking for that.” She also says that solving these challenges requires large amounts of real-time data. Continuous data collection is essential to tracking and making better decisions. “Personalized medicine and chatbots are two tools that can help address this gap.” she added.
looking for the answer
“We’re thrilled to be able to help patients with clinical trials,” said Tara Viswanathan, CEO and founder of Rupa Health, a California-based company that helps healthcare professionals and patients order and manage laboratory tests. “About 80 percent of our patients are women. I’m not surprised. I think it’s because they don’t have answers.” She emphasizes that the female body is complex and requires intensive research.
Dorothy Kilroy, CCO at Oura, added: “Women are actively seeking answers, scouring Reddit threads and online forums. When Oura first launched, most of its users were men. “But as we developed features, As we’ve grown, we’ve seen a huge increase in female users, especially women under 25. This generation will grow up with valuable information about their bodies, and I think that’s great.”
next step
Recognizing progress is part of the journey. Alice Zheng of Foreground Capital said: “Compared to five years ago, we are in a better position. There were only a handful of women’s health funds, but now there are more than half a dozen, most of them in the United States. There are some in Europe as well.”
Despite this progress, there is still a long way to go. It is hoped that both men and women will invest in this field and that women’s health will become mainstream.
Meaningful change requires a health care system that focuses on understanding root causes, not just treating symptoms. Sylvia Kang added: “When it comes to questions like menopause and unexplained infertility, we often don’t have answers. But we do know that lifestyle factors like sleep, diet, and exercise have a huge impact on experiences like menopause.” We can now provide personalized recommendations to our users based on our research.”
Research and education play a critical role in women’s health innovation. Progress requires rigorous data analysis, and there is still a wealth of unexplored data.
