More women are turning to tech to improve their health, and investors are taking note.
What happened: Popular fertility tracking app Flo Health reached unicorn status after a US$200 million funding round. Flo already has 380 million global users, 70 million of which are monthly active users, and another 5 million who pay for the premium version of the app.
Why it matters: Flo’s billion-dollar valuation is a high-water mark for tech aimed at women’s health, or, femtech. The sector is having a moment as women armed with Apple Watches and Oura Rings track their cycles and other vitals to help make more informed decisions.
- Between March 2021 and March 2024, VCs invested nearly $5 billion into femtech startups, about a 60% increase from the previous three-year period.
Big picture: Demand for these apps stems from the fact that the broader medical establishment can still be derisive of or not attuned to female health issues. Women’s bodies are different than men's, yet many treatments and loads of research remain male-centric.
In Canada: Earlier this year, a group of over 120 companies, industry partners, investors, and accelerators joined forces to create a network for Femtech Canada, an incubator for gender-diverse health startups that aims to help companies meet with investors.—QH