What Is Femtech?
A new segment of the healthcare industry is getting noticed by consumers, press, and most importantly, investors.
There are so many things left unsaid when it comes to women’s health, from the mysteries of childbirth to a complete lack of conversations about menopause. Whether it is societal taboos or fear of vulnerability, women have not had the ability to openly discuss their symptoms and struggles. Thankfully, a whole new generation of founders are working to change this.
The term “femtech” was introduced by Ida Tin, the Danish-born founder of Clue, a period and ovulation tracking app established in Germany in 2013. At that time, technology companies solving women’s health challenges were in short supply and underfunded.
One of Tin’s motivations for creating language to categorize software, diagnostics, products, and services that use technology to address women's health concerns was to make the industry easier to talk about with investors.
Less than 4% of Venture Capital investors in the United States are women. And while that number is on the rise, there is still a need to get buy-in from men to grow these companies with investment dollars. Tin cited that men can say they have femtech companies in their portfolio vs. solutions for women “peeing their pants.”
Fertility, menstruation, menopause, sexual health, pregnancy, pre/postnatal, to at-home screenings for cervical cancer.
Decentralized Care
Many factors are contributing to the growing interest in femtech companies. One being the broad adoption of telehealth motivated by the pandemic. This is creating even more space for specialized care.
Startups like Gennev are taking advantage and providing the type of care that wasn’t available at local OBGYN offices specifically addressing menopause with education, products, and most recently the first telemedicine menopause clinic.
Following a 20-year career in tech, with 15 of those years spent at Microsoft, Jill Angelo is leading the efforts as Co-Founder and CEO. She was named Inc. Magazine’s Most Impressive Women Entrepreneurs, opening the door and conversation for female founders in the space to follow.
Remote Diagnostics
Advancements in portable technology and artificial intelligence are changing the way women receive a diagnosis all over the world. MovileODT, a start-up based in Tel Aviv is using this technology to screen for cervical cancer.
Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer affecting women globally and the second most common cancer for women in low resource settings.
MovileODT uses a smart colposcope (small device around the size of a smartphone) to take a photograph of a woman’s cervix. The image is then transmitted to the cloud via a smartphone, where artificial intelligence is used to identify normal or abnormal cervical findings. A diagnosis can be returned in 60 seconds.
Prioritizing Women’s Pleasure
Sexual health was once a hushed conversation in an OBGYN’s office, but that is changing thanks to physicians like Dr. Lyndsey Harper of an app designed to support women with sexual problems and questions.
At Rebelle Con in 2020, the undisputed mic drop moment came from femtech founder, Dr. Harper. “Arousal comes before desire,” was the quote that left our heads spinning and sparked our “desire” to learn more about the education, erotica, and coaching available from the convenience of our smartphones. Designed by doctors and psychologists, Rosy curates evidence-based interventions proven to improve sexual function.
Women’s Health has never been at the forefront of research and technology advancements, until now thanks to the innovative founders leading these mission driven companies.
