Women’s digital health startups on the surge
Τhe pandemic prompted an acceleration in the adoption and mainstreaming of digital health services, creating business opportunities in a market that was once considered too niche or risky by the venture capital community.
Women’s health startups, in particular, have seen a surge in investments as the pandemic pushed more services online, according to Rock Health, a San Francisco-based seed and early-stage venture fund.
Funding for women-focused digital-health startups in the U.S. rose 105% last year to $418 million and was spread across 22 companies, nearly twice the number from a year earlier.
Rock Health, which follows deals of $2 million or more among domestic digital-health companies, counted 55 companies in the “femtech” category, which includes those that tackle issues such as reproductive health, maternal care and chronic disease.
“The health-care market is a four-trillion-dollar industry,” said Chief Executive Officer Bill Evans. “Women’s health is a small piece of that but there are significant un-met needs among women today that are more overlooked than other areas.”
Across 2020, US digital health companies raised $14.1 billion in venture funding, the largest amount of capital deployed in a single year since Rock Health began tracking funding in 2011.
The pandemic brought health to the forefront and with it an explosion in digital health solutions, from telemedecine to wearables and digital health tracking. Stay-at-home orders, physical distancing guidelines, and closures of outpatient healthcare services encouraged millions of Americans to seek telemedicine care.
However, despite the rise of female-focused digital health and wellness products – more commonly known as “Femtech” – the sector remains an undeveloped area of healthtech with only 4% of healthcare R&D going towards women’s health, according to TechCrunch.
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