What Is the FemTech Revolution?

First coined by entrepreneur Ida Tin in 2016, “FemTech” has become a popular buzzword in the healthcare industry. Once considered a niche market, women’s health today presents significant business opportunities for companies, investors, and stakeholders—and it’s no wonder why. Women account for approximately 80% of consumer purchasing decisions related to health and wellness. Read on to learn more about what FemTech is, discover what’s driving this revolution, and explore three FemTech companies that continue to see significant gains in this space.

What is FemTech?

FemTech encompasses a wide variety of technology-enabled healthcare products and solutions designed with the female consumer in mind. As a subcategory of healthcare technology, FemTech seeks to address many of the unique health and wellness needs of women that have historically been underserved.

FemTech companies focus on developing solutions for a wide range of areas, including maternal health, pelvic and sexual health, menopause, fertility, menstrual health, and contraception. Some FemTech products also provide solutions for conditions that affect women differently or disproportionately than men, such as cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis.

What’s driving the FemTech revolution?

According to research conducted by McKinsey & Company, dynamics like public awareness, funding, and company formation are fueling the FemTech space and causing a surge in healthcare products designed uniquely for women. As more companies strive to identify and address women’s unmet healthcare needs, more capital, resources, and talent are required to keep the momentum going. McKinsey & Company claims “estimates for FemTech’s current market size range from $500 million to $1 billion and forecasts suggest opportunities for double-digit revenue growth.”

Currently, FemTech companies garner 3% of all digital health funding. While many of the FemTech companies are already addressing gaps that biopharma and device incumbents have yet to provide solutions for, this is clearly only the beginning of this movement. By designing personalized solutions, the FemTech industry can provide better outcomes for female patients and consumers, while offering a significant return on investment for stakeholders. We also expect to see opportunities increase for researchers, healthcare providers, and legacy medical-device and pharmaceutical companies that choose to invest in this space.

How can FemTech companies disrupt the healthcare industry?

While the FemTech revolution is still young, there’s potential for companies in this space to disrupt the healthcare industry by:

Providing direct-to-consumer access: From prescription delivery services like The Pill Club to virtual clinics like Tia, many FemTech companies are using technology to make accessing care more convenient.
Breaking down barriers: Many of the FemTech companies that are thriving today aren’t afraid to address topics that have historically been stigmatized. We’re seeing successful companies lead open discussions and marketing campaigns about menstrual and sexual health, pelvic care, and menopause.
Empowering patients: FemTech solutions like Bloomlife and Modern Fertility are using trackers, wearables, and at-home diagnostics to provide patients with the knowledge and resources they need to make informed decisions about their health.
Personalizing care: Several FemTech companies are creating solutions tailored to specific cultures and populations to provide more personalized care options. Some examples include Health in Her HUE, FOLX Health, and Kasha.

Who is leading the FemTech revolution?

The FemTech revolution is shaking up more than just the healthcare industry. Research from McKinsey and Company shows that more than 70% of FemTech companies are founded by women, which is a significant increase when compared to the 20% norm for all new companies. Developing a more inclusive and gender-aware healthcare system has the potential to create more job opportunities for female investors, founders, inventors, and physicians, which could continue to fuel consumer-centric inventions that provide solutions for a wider range of people.

As McKinsey and Company explains, “women are not just consumers, but the primary healthcare decision-makers for themselves and often for their families.” Providing women with opportunities to lead innovation in the healthcare landscape may offer better healthcare for women and society as a whole.

3 FemTech companies on the rise

According to PitchBook, there are more than 821 companies leading the FemTech space today. As of January 14, 2022, PitchBook reports 2,819 investors have provided $16.24 billion worth of capital to these organizations – and that number is certainly climbing. Here are three FemTech companies to keep an eye on:

1. Clue

Founded by Ida Tin, Clue is a mobile fertility tracking app that helps women understand their overall health by giving them the tools and resources to accurately track their menstrual cycles. As Ida explains, the menstrual cycle is “an indicator of overall health” and helping women understand their unique cycle can enable them “to become more in tune with their body and how [it] affects them.”

Today, Clue has raised more than $44.78 million in funding. Clue also recently launched a partnership with L’Oréal to explore the links between menstrual cycles and skin health. This collaboration highlights the many opportunities brands outside of the healthcare industry have to participate in the FemTech movement.

2. Progyny

Progyny is a company that works with employers to help them provide fertility benefits to their employees. By creating a program that fits seamlessly into existing benefits packages, Progyny makes it easy for companies to provide comprehensive coverage, which includes a wide variety of family building services like surrogacy and adoption as well. This allows Progyny to serve not only women but also members of the LGBTQ+ community who want to fulfill the dream of becoming parents. When Progyny went public in 2019, the company was valued at $1 billion. Today, this company’s current market capitalization comes in at an impressive $4 billion.

3. Maven Clinic

Maven Clinic is a virtual clinic that caters its services to women and families. While this company began with a heavy focus on maternity care, it continues to expand its products to meet the needs of women during every stage of the reproductive life cycle. By offering continuous, holistic care, Maven Clinic strives to create a more equitable healthcare system. To date, Maven Clinic shares that it’s supported over 10 million families and provides healthcare access to people in more than 175 countries. In a recent Series D investment, Maven Clinic received a $1 billion valuation.

Learn more about the FemTech revolution

Interested in learning more about the FemTech revolution? Here are a few articles that proved helpful when researching this topic: