The fact that FemTech presents a viable investment opportunity can be explained by an ongoing upward trend in diversity and recognition of the importance of preventive health and personalized medicine. Also, personalized wellness and consumer healthcare technology have recently been among the top-five investment areas in digital health.

Let’s have a look at some of the key aspects of FemTech investments.

The vast majority of decision-makers in the FemTech Industry are men. Only 17% of startups have at least one female founder, and only 14% of VC investment goes to women-led startups. Almost 90% of investment decision-makers are male. Under such circumstances, conveying the needs of women and unleashing the full potential of the market is a big challenge.

M&A is most common among startups operating in the general health & wellness category. Only two companies were acquired in 2020, while as many as six were acquired in 2019. Five of the six acquired companies and the two M&A deals took place in the general health & wellness subsegment. One of the largest deals involved the acquisition of Procter & Gamble for $100 million in February 2019.

There has been an increase in funds committed exclusively to funding women's health enterprises. In response to the lack of financing from traditional investment funds, niche funds, often led by women, have been emerging. Portfolia, a venture platform financed almost exclusively by female investors, announced the creation of a new fund that would focus exclusively on FemTech. Another example is Astarte Ventures which invests in companies focusing on the health and wellbeing of women and children.

Global VC Investments in FemTech, 2012-2020

As of now, only 4% of tech investment in life science target health tech solutions for women.
In 2020, a total of $520M of VC capital was invested in FemTech, a slight decrease from 2019’s $592M. One of the reasons why the industry isn’t getting significant VC funding is the poor track record of sizable exits.
Only five FemTech exits took place in 2020, with two companies acquired by Bayer (ETR:BYN), and six completed in 2019.
Nevertheless, overall VC investment in FemTech startups has grown tenfold since 2012.

Top 5 Investment Deals in FemTech in 2020

In 2020, a total of $376.2 million was invested in FemTech startups. Some of the major deals included:

• Kindbody — $32M, a company offering gynecology, fertility, and family-building care in modern, tech-enabled clinics (Series B round);

• TMRW Life Sciences — $36.5M, the world's first and only automated platform for the safe management and care of the frozen eggs and embryos used in IVF (Series B round);

• Sera Prognostics — $65.7M, the developer of the PreTRM test, an innovative blood test that predicts an expectant mother's risk of premature birth (Series D round);

• Maven Clinic — $45M, helps companies retain diverse talent, improve health outcomes, and reduce maternity and fertility costs (Series C round);

• Care/of — $40.7M, provides a monthly subscription of personalized vitamins (Series D round).

FemTech Investors Distribution by Region and Funding

1000 FemTech investors have been analyzed and included into research.
Accounting for nearly 55%, North America, and more specifically, the US, is the leader in the number of FemTech investors. Europe is second at 25%, while Australia, Africa, and South America jointly account for only 2.8%. Despite having only 14% of FemTech investors, Asia can boast the largest share of Investment ($5.4B). There is a huge gap between investments in the top and bottom regions, such as Australia, Latin America, and Africa.

Distribution of FemTech Investors by Regions, 2021

FemTech Investments by Region, $M, 2021

FemTech Investors by Subsectors

FemTech investors mainly invest in Reproductive Health (25.8%). Healthcare and Longevity are the next largest aggregated subsectors in terms of investment (20.2% and 18.8% respectively). PharmTech has the lowest number of investors (1.1%). More than 40% of investors invest in multiple subsectors. The distribution of investors corresponds to the percentage share; out of the total number of investments, 333 were made in Reproductive Health (and more specifically, in Fertility, Period, and Sexual Healthcare).

Distribution of FemTech Investors by Aggregated Subsectors, 2021

Distribution of FemTech Investors

Venture capital (VC) firms, including Corporate VC and Micro VC, account for 68% of all investors. Other investors include Accelerators/Incubators, Private Equity Firms, and Angels. With a total investment of $1.8 B, FemTech Investors mostly have 11-50 investments in their portfolios. At $4.5 B, investors with 51-100 investments have the highest value of investments. 71% of investors have fewer than 100 investments in their portfolios.

FemTech Investors Share
by Types, 2021

Distribution of Investors
by Investments, 2021

Investors Exclusively Focused on FemTech

Leading FemTech Investors

Nearly all investors are Venture Capitals, with minor exceptions for Micro VC, Angel group, and Accelerator. Majority of investors have high number of investments and value of funds, while all of them are heavily investing into FemTech. 

FemTech has gained $520M VC investment in 2020, a slight decrease from 2019’s $592M. Despite that, overall VC funding to FemTech startups has grown by almost 10 times since 2012.

Notes: 

       a) The list of top 10 investors is based on weighted financial performance and FemTech share in total number of investments; 

       b) Pie charts show stage(s) at which an investment is made, i.e., clockwise: 1st quarter - seed and start-up, 2nd quarter - early stage, 3rd quarter - growth stage, 4th quarter - late stage;

       c) Filled in is considered as blue;

       d) Investors’ share in Total Fund Raised and Number of Investments are calculated based on the assumption that these 10 investors account for 100%.

Femtech Accelerators

Accelerators account for 11% in the total investors number in FemTech after the most common investors group like Venture Capital (68%). FemTech Lab is a leading FemTech Accelerator.