2024 has been a record year for the femtech sector, with startups garnering more attention from investors than ever before. Awareness around women’s health issues is growing, and innovative solutions are emerging, tackling topics like reproductive technology, period tracking, maternal health, well-being, aging, or menopause. This trend is accompanied by increased regulatory approval of femtech products and the destigmatization of crucial social issues related to the intricacies of the female experience. However, there are still significant issues the femtech industry needs to address, including digital censorship and the funding gap.
We talked to Gerda Mazi Larsson, co-founder of The Case for Her, Philippa Allen, Kunion Investment Manager at Calm/Storm Ventures, and Jun Deng, Investment Partner at Joyance Partners, who shared their insights on trends and challenges the femtech sector faces.
Awareness around women’s health is growing, and so is the funding
In 2024, European femtech startups raised €339.4 million across 47 deals setting a new record that surpasses 2021’s peak of €325 million. The reasons behind the record funding, as noted by Jun Deng, a Partner at Joyance, include a growing awareness of the significant unmet needs in women's health, particularly in areas like pelvic and uterine care, maternal health and family building, and women-specific mental health.
“This growing awareness has resulted in increased venture capital investments, as well as increased government grants and public health initiatives. In November 2023, the Biden Administration launched the first-ever White House-led initiative to focus on improving the way the federal government approaches and funds research into women’s health,” she remarks.
Another key driver of the investors’ strong interest is the market’s expansion, fueled by the integration of AI and big data into femtech apps, as The Case for Her’s co-founder Gerda Mazi Larsson told Vestbee. Leveraging this technology, tailored solutions for conditions like PCOS and reproductive health can tap into broader markets and benefit from faster development timelines, which minimize R&D risks compared to biotech or medical devices. The €50.8 million round for Stockholm-based Natural Cycles, which aims to make hormone-free birth control more accessible, is a testament to this.
Personalized healthcare solutions and reproductive tech: trends in femtech
According to Philippa Allen, Junior Investment Manager at Calm/Storm Ventures has singled out key transformative trends that will affect the femtech market:
- Personalized health solutions have emerged as a cornerstone, with digital platforms leveraging data to provide tailored care, catering to women’s unique health journeys.
- The scope of femtech is also broadening to encompass mental health and wellness, addressing issues like stress management and the mental-physical health connection. “More research recognizes the links between these conditions, particularly in women, to more serious physical health conditions later in life, including cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis,” Philippa says.
- There are also advances in reproductive technology with AI-powered fertility trackers and non-hormonal contraceptives.
- The long-overlooked field of menopause and aging is finally getting attention.
“The femtech industry is increasingly addressing menopause, a historically underserved area. Startups focusing on symptom management, hormone replacement therapy, and education around aging are gaining traction”
Great examples of such startups include Jude, which focuses on urinary incontinence, and EmbrLabs, which addresses hot flashes and menopause symptoms.
From censorship to funding gaps: challenges faced by femtech companies
In July, Europe welcomed its first femtech unicorn, Flo Health, following a funding round exceeding $200 million. The company, led by an all-male team, sparked backlash within the industry and underscored the ongoing issue of male founders dominating the femtech space in terms of funding volume.
“While it’s true that Flo Health is founded and led by an all-male team, it’s important to recognize that many other successful femtech companies are led by women,” Jun Deng says. She cites prominent examples like Maven Clinic, helmed by Kate Ryder and valued at $1.3 billion, and Tia, co-founded by Carolyn Witte & Felicity Yost, with a valuation of $400-$600 million. “Many women are building solutions to tackle health problems they’ve experienced firsthand,” Philippa Allen further elaborates. “Women founders in femtech often come from very different career backgrounds — whether in business, banking, or entirely different fields — and are driven by frustration with persistent health issues that the market has failed to adequately address. They then decide to step up and fix these problems themselves,” she claims.
However, numbers show that disparity in funding is stark and all founders still tend to receive more investment across all sectors, claim the partners of the funds we spoke to. Thus, while over 70% of European femtech companies have at least one female founder, only 10% of venture capital in the sector has been allocated to these companies since 2014.
Deng acknowledges the challenge but points out an encouraging trend: “The fact that men are interested in innovative solutions for women’s health is a positive sign of rising awareness of these large unmet needs. This is exactly what we want to see in the industry in order to have a genuine impact, and it is vital to support all types of innovators and entrepreneurs who are passionate about women’s health, regardless of their gender.”
Bridging this gap relies on data-driven advocacy and the proven success of diverse teams, Gerda Mazi Larsson suggests. She references McKinsey’s findings, which show that investments addressing the women’s health gap could add $1 trillion to the global economy annually by 2040. Moreover, women-led companies tend to outperform their male counterparts, delivering twice the revenue per dollar invested. As The Case for Her states, “We need more diverse teams represented in femtech companies. The data is clear: diversity drives superior performance.”
Femtech’s challenges extend beyond funding
The historical lack of reliable data on women’s health, compounded by persistent gender gaps in medical research, limits investors' ability to accurately size market opportunities. Deng notes, “The historical lack of accurate data on women’s health creates significant challenges for investors in accurately sizing the market or evaluating unmet needs.” Allen adds that concerns around the mishandling of sensitive health data also pose significant risks. “Moreover, regulatory and societal barriers— such as the stigma surrounding topics like sexual wellness and menopause — further hinder market growth and open discussions about these critical issues” she adds.
Surprisingly, the absence of reliable data on women’s health is made worse by the widespread issue of digital censorship, which prevents femtech companies from sharing crucial information and reaching their audiences. According to the data from The Case for Her and CensHERship, 90% of femtech companies experienced that big tech platforms have removed their ads, and nearly 40% experienced 10 or more separate issues of censorship. Their joint campaign aims to showcase the voices of health innovators whose content and advertisements are systematically censored on major social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Google.
“As seen in the data, big tech platforms such as Meta, Google, TikTok, etc are systematically discriminating against women’s health companies. It limits these companies from generating revenue, restricts access to critical information for consumers, and perpetuates the funding gap,” says Larsson.
One of the examples brought on by the firm showcases how accurate, educational content on women’s health, such as endometriosis awareness, is often flagged or removed, while ads for men’s products like erectile dysfunction treatments are approved without issue. Through outreach on social media and public forums, The Case for Her invites founders across the European Union to share their experiences of shadowbanning, flagged content, and ad rejections. “Access to health information is a human right,” they assert.
The road ahead: from niche to global
While femtech still battles stigmas and societal taboos, investors seem to be optimistic about its future. With women representing 51% of the population, femtech isn’t just a niche — it’s a global market waiting to be tapped, Jun Deng concludes.
