34 of the Most Promising Women's Health Startups of 2022, According to VCs

Originally published in Insider 10-17-22

Last year, funding for women's health startups exploded to an impressive $2.5 billion, about a threefold increase from the previous year, according to data from McKinsey and Rock Health. Still, a report from Silicon Valley Bank shows that less than 9% of healthcare venture capital funding is spent on women's health startups.

"There are six femtech funds in the US, all sub-$75 million for a $1 trillion TAM," Priya Oberoi-Cattai, a Goddess Gaia Ventures managing partner, said. "That is completely disproportionate between where you could be and where we are." TAM, which stands for "total addressable market," refers to the market size of an industry.

Some think the colloquial label "femtech" for women's health startups prevents investors from seeing the potential of the space.

"Femtech makes me think of fembots," Chrissy Farr, OMERS Ventures' principal, said. "The space is very broad. It's not just reproductive organs — there are cardiovascular issues. We respond to medication differently than men."

With trailblazers like the telemedicine unicorn Maven Clinic and the family-benefits startup Cleo paving the way, a host of up-and-coming women's health startups have cropped up, addressing everything from menopause to ovarian cancer and cardiovascular health.

Insider asked top investors to nominate the most promising women's health startups they'd come across, both within and outside their portfolios. Here are their picks.

Oma Fertility

What it does: Oma Fertility is a full-service fertility clinic that offers IVF, egg freezing, frozen-embryo transfers, and donor-egg IVF. 

The company's IVF services use proprietary technology called Oma Sperm InSight to identify the most promising sperm. Embryologists then use an AI-powered microscope that automatically tracks fast-moving sperm for easy retrieval. After collecting an individual sperm cell, the embryologist injects it directly into an egg, a process known as intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

Farr said that similar to "how Airbnb opened up the travel market by making travel affordable," something "like that will happen in fertility for a much bigger market." Oma says it offers lower pricing than other fertility clinics, with no hidden costs.

Funding: $37.5 million, according to the company

Investors: Jazz Venture Partners and Root Ventures