Women’s health investment accelerates 

Momentum behind women’s health innovation is accelerating globally, with activity now visible from early‑stage FemTech ventures through to major multinational transactions. This shift reflects a rebalancing of the investment landscape, following decades of under‑investment across the sector that has constrained outcomes, productivity and economic potential. 

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The publication of the Renewed Women’s Health Strategy for England reflects the growing momentum of the FemTech sector, with commitments to closing the gender health gap, improving research, strengthening evidence-based innovation, and ensuring women’s voices shape service design. Crucially, it positions women’s health as a national priority linked to quality of life, workforce productivity and economic growth. This policy is accompanied by wider shifts in investor sentiment, signalling that FemTech is not a niche category but a strategic opportunity. 

At the early‑stage end of the market, the UK’s FemTech pipeline is growing. Accelerating FemTech has played a central role in this, supporting founders to refine evaluation pathways, build strategic partnerships and navigate commercial models. The Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst-funded programme, which is delivered by the Health Innovation Network South London with DigitalHealth.London and national partners, has seen its pipeline of 43 innovations secure an estimated £25 million in investment.  

Alumni include 28x, which recently launched with £1.2 million in investment from the Philips Foundation and 40 mission-driven angel investors. The privacy‑first, clinically grounded platform for menstrual tracking focuses on data security, user trust and evidence‑based insights, aligning with broader trends shaping the next generation of digital health tools. 28x Founder Amber Vodegel built Pregnancy+, which became the number one pregnancy app globally with 150 million downloads. She sold it to Philips in 2017, stayed for five years, and left in 2023.  

Meanwhile, Emm’s $9 million oversubscribed funding round at the end of 2025 was led by world-class investors including Lunar Ventures, with additional participation from the Labcorp Venture Fund, Tiny VC, BlueLion Global, Alumni Ventures (investor in Oura & Levels). The raise brought together a network of high-profile angels, including Amar Shah (co-founder of Wayve), Vivek Garipalli (founder of Clover Health and Wormhole Capital), and Harpreet Rai (former CEO, Oura, underscoring investor appetite for solutions addressing complex, under‑researched areas of women’s health. Emm’s science‑led approach and strong clinical partnerships exemplify the type of high‑quality innovation emerging from the UK ecosystem. 

Importantly, this early‑stage vibrancy is now being matched by activity at the later‑stage end of the women’s health market. The $18.3 billion take‑private of Hologic by Blackstone and TPG completed on 7 April marks a significant milestone, signalling that investors see long‑term strategic value in women’s health portfolios. This move demonstrates that the sector is attracting not only venture capital but also substantial private equity investment, an essential indicator of market maturity.  

Taken together, these developments show a sector moving from sporadic small-scale investment to larger scale interest. Early‑stage founders are gaining traction and companies are scaling. Yet the investment opportunity remains significant as improvements in care, outcomes and efficiency are still required and are increasingly a political priority.  

By convening industry partners and NHS stakeholders, supporting innovators, and championing evidence‑based solutions, the HIN is helping ensure that the ecosystem evolves, backed by investment that translates into meaningful, measurable impacts for women across the country. 

Read the Accelerating FemTech Impact Report to learn more about the pipeline of 43 innovations for women’s health.

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