Zoya Misha
February 16, 2023
Early femtech pioneer Ida Tin, who founded Berlin-based menstrual tracking app Clue, coined the term FemTech back in 2016. Today we use it to refer to a rapidly growing industry of startups and companies designed to research, innovate and support women’s health.
Want to see who's leading the charge? Here are 15 cutting-edge femtech startups of 2023 who are emerging in this thriving she-conomy.
Clue, a Berlin-based femtech company, provides a female health application that helps women track their menstrual and fertility cycles with ease. It has gained popularity for its ability to provide accurate predictions for periods, fertile windows, and reproductive health insights. Since its inception in 2012, Clue has secured a total funding of $47.8M, which demonstrates the increasing demand for femtech solutions and the potential to revolutionize women's health.
inne is a Berlin-based startup who created the first hormone-based mini lab which indicates and tracks fertility and ovulation based on saliva. Since 2019 they have secured a total of $19.7m in Early VC and Series A funding. Founder and CEO Eirini Rapti calls this new form of science-based digital contraception a radical self-knowledge tool for all the phases in a woman’s life.
Ava is a digital healthcare company from Switzerland who created the first FDA-cleared fertility tracking wearable. This machine learning device tracks physiological parameters to predict and recognise a woman’s ovulation days. They have raised over $45.3m in funding to expand their business into other aspects of female health.
The Evie ring is a wearable device designed specifically for women's health. Owned by Movano Health, a company that has received $32.7 million in funding and has a market capitalization of $55.1 million. The Evie ring provides real-time health data and insights to women, helping them better understand their menstrual cycles, fertility, and overall reproductive health. With its sleek design and innovative features, the Evie ring is revolutionising the way women track and manage their health, and is poised to play a major role in the growing femtech market.
FEMNA is a female-led telemedicine startup based in Berlin who rethink women's health in Germany and offer diagnostics, advice and solutions online. In 2022 they have received $1m in Seed funding. Founder Maxie Matthiessen wanted to create more equality around health issues for German women, who often feel they are not getting enough advice from their doctors.
theblood is an innovative FemTech startup that promotes body awareness and enlightenment through smart period products. They offer a menstrual blood test that provides women with valuable health data, while reducing waste and fostering knowledge of their bodies. The company has received support from the Grace Accelerator for female entrepreneurship and the Berlin Startup Stipend, and is completing a program with the Berlin Innovation Agency. They are currently seeking funding from business angels for their first funding round.
Bellabeat is a holistic health tech startup from Silicon Valley who manufactured smart jewellery that tracks women's wellness. Their subscription based data-driven wearable can offer personalised coaching programs and fitness, mindfulness, nutrition, health, beauty, and lifestyle information. In 2021 they sold over 50,000 preorders of its new smart-wearable product, the Ivy and they have secured $18.9m in overall funding so far.
The Female Company is an angel owned & Berlin-based platform that aims to support women through every stage of their life, from their first period to menopause. They are the first of their kind to cover the complete lifecycle of womanhood, and their innovative approach has earned them significant recognition within the femhealth education industry.
Thinx is a New York based feminine hygiene company who developed period-proof underwear to replace pads and tampons, fully funded via Kickstarter. From 2020 until now they have launched a campaign to advocate for menstrual equity, empowered women in developing countries through purposeful partnerships, secured a $25 million funding for their thought-provoking brand campaigns and will launch an affordable underwear line for mass retailers.
Daye is a London-based startup that is bridging the gap in female health by product innovation and trying to help women suffering from period pain. They newly developed a tampon that uses CBD to help tackle period cramps (or dysmenorrhea) as an alternative to traditional painkillers. Since 2019 they have secured $18.7m in Seed & Series A funding. Get €5 off your next order with code JOINDAYE-363384
Elvie is a UK-based health and lifestyle brand creating the first silent wearable breastfeeding pump and award-winning Kegel trainer, bringing women's technology out of the dark ages. Having raised a record-breaking $144m since 2013, it is one of the most successful femtech startups over the past decade.
branayama is a Berlin-based startup who was crowdfunded through Kickstarter to launch their sustainable nursing bra that replaces nursing pads. In 2021 they received a Berlin Founders Fund grant by Silicon Allee. Founder Stefanie Raffelsieper wanted to innovate the outdated system of nursing bras and rethink the old world of maternity wear.
Startups and VCs are finally pursuing the menopause market, seeing it as an area ripe for innovation. According to data from early-stage investing firm Female Founders Fund 1.1 billion women are expected to be postmenopausal by 2025, meaning there is $600 billion of spending opportunity left untapped by startups that could create new services and products for these women.
Tabu is a new kind of sexual wellness company with a mission to help people connect sex with their physical and emotional wellbeing, starting with women in peri- to post-menopause. Tabu was initially funded by friends and family, since founder Natalie Waltz states investors still see her company is in a controversial and niche area.
XbyX is a Berlin-based digital platform that provides solutions to help women over 40 navigate menopause with ease and fewer symptoms. They raised their latest funding from a Seed round on the 25th of January 2023, which reflects investor confidence in their innovative approach. XbyX offers plant-based products that reduce common symptoms of perimenopause, menopause, and hormone imbalance, supported by educational content and an online community to promote healthy aging.
London-based femtech startup Astinno is working on wearable device Grace, an automated smart cooling bracelet to help women in menopause get through hot flushes and night sweats. Instead of women needing to wake up 10-15 times a night to run cold water over their wrists, Grace will detect their hot flushes and apply cooling in the earliest stage possible.
Are you a fempreneur looking for a space to bring your startup to the next level? Take a look at our coworking memberships and private office spaces.
Want to pitch your female-founded business on our stage? Shoot an email to zoe@betahaus.de
