The growing FemTech market

Flo health, the women’s health app has raised a record $200m in a series C investment from global investor, General Atlantic and becomes Europe’s first FemTech unicorn. They are the investors behind the likes of Uber and Airbnb.

General Atlantic’s investment means Flo’s valuation exceeds $1 billion making it the first digital consumer women’s health app to achieve unicorn status. While the US has had two FemTechs – Maven’s virtual online clinics and Kindbody’s fertility clinic - hit unicorn status.

But despite the media buzz, the FemTech sector is still struggling to find equality whether it is around funding, the gender data gap and access.

FemTech has emerged as a dynamic and rapidly growing segment of the healthcare industry, with a recent McKinsey report warning that those who continue to forgo investing in women’s health may find themselves left behind by the players that tap into this high-potential market. Its authors argue that “investments addressing the women’s health gap could add years to life and life to years – and potentially boost the global economy by $1 trillion annually by 2040”.

“More than half of the health gap for women occurs during their working years, corresponding to about 80% of the estimated GDP impact” McKinsey Insight Report, 2024

While improving women’s health is correlated with economic growth, it is foremost an issue of equity and inclusivity. Addressing the gender health gap, the government published its first ever Women’s Health Strategy for England in July 2022. Funding to support the commissioning, implementation, and delivery of women’s hubs across all NHS integrated care systems has been rolled out, with the expectation that each integrated care board has at least one hub in its area by the end of December 2024.

But moving forward requires a greater understanding of the broader impacts of the women’s health gap. McKinsey’s report that research in women’s health primarily focuses on diseases with high mortality, overlooking diseases leading to disability. Endometriosis disease costs the UK economy £8.2billion a year in treatment, loss of work and healthcare costs. It typically takes an average of eight years from onset of symptoms to diagnosis. The cause is unknown and there is no definite cure with treatments focussed on symptom management. But there are early signs of investors increasing investments in women’s health and specifically endometriosis given its market potential. Over 1,100 new patent filings specifically directed towards endometriosis have been made in the last year.

How Femtech moves from niche to essential

According to Crunchbase data, 2021 was a special year for FemTech as global venture funding in the segment crossed the $1.2billion mark for the first time. Flo Health’s unicorn status demonstrates amongst other success stories such as Elvie’s that we are at the cusp of a global movement to make women’s health a priority everywhere.

AI Femtech: friend or foe?

Some say we are in the golden age of the next phase of technology: Artificial Intelligence. Will FemTech AI solutions change women’s health?

A 2023 National Geographic paper suggested that AI could be the key to resolving “the most neglected” women’s health issues, with women’s health standing to benefit from AI in part because of the long-standing gender gap in health research. However, addressing AI biases is challenging. AI systems are only as good as the data on which they are trained. Problems arise when applying AI to fields that are already susceptible to bias, such as healthcare which has historically been biased against women, people of colour, and other underrepresented groups.

Looking ahead

The FemTech sector is predicted to reach $103 billion by 2030 offering tailored solutions to support women’s health and well-being. While the integration of AI solutions for health predictions presents as an opportunity to close the health gender gap, issues around investment in women’s health and care delivery models need to remain on the agenda.

If you work in the women’s health and technology (FemTech) sector and would like support or would like to discuss any of the issues raised in this article then our dedicated women’s health team can help.

This article was written in collaboration with Angela Hobbs of Wilkinson Hall following a FemTech event hosted by the OBN (UK) team.