Investment roundup: exploring the latest development in femtech investment

Femtech World explores the latest investment developments in the world of women’s health.

Winners of second Women TechEU Open Call

The EU-funded Women TechEU’s project has announced the winners of its Open Call 2.

The project received 827 applications from 41 eligible countries, selecting 40 winners across 16 countries.

A total of 52.5 per cent of the winners were selected from the “Biotechnology, Life Sciences, and Agritech” category, with 27.5 per cent in “Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (including Big Data)” and 17.5 per cent in “Advanced Materials.”

The project has confirmed it has already launched the third call which is set to close on 17 March 2025, and the fourth call is scheduled for later this year, with each selecting 40 beneficiaries.

Each selected startup will receive a €75,000 grant as well as a personalised business development programme.

US$26m funding to scale sweat-sensing wearables

Digital health company Epicore Biosystems has raised US$26m in Series B funding that will go towards driving global adoption of its personalised hydration and cloud analytics platform. The funding will also enable the platform to expand into new biomarker targets relevant to kidney health, women’s health, malnutrition and environmental toxin exposures.

Epicore’s suite of sweat-sensing wearable solutions includes the Gx Sweat Patch, commercialized in partnership with PepsiCo and Gatorade, the Discovery Patch® Sweat Collection System (FDA Class I device) and the Connected Hydration wearable and cloud platform tailored for industrial workers.

US$6.9m to develop “world first” continuous hormone monitoring device

Women-founded medical device company Level Zero Health has announced it has raised US$6.9m that will go toward the development of its continuous hormone monitoring device.

The company says the device will be a world first, eliminating the need for invasive blood tests, instead using DNA-based sensors.

According to the company, the device could help pave the way for innovative treatments for hormone imbalances and contraception.

Madica diversifies portfolio with backing of female founded startups

Madica, a structured investment programme designed for pre-seed stage startups across eight different countries, has announced its latest round of investments in four tech-enabled startups which include Medikea, Motherbeing, Pixii Motors and ToumAI.

Each startup has received an investment of up to US$200,000 and will participate in Madica’s comprehensive investment programme.

According to Emmanuel Adegboye, head of Madica, the company has set out to build a portfolio with at least 50 per cent gender diversity in their leadership teams, noting that the company is currently “exceeding that goal in addition to a significant portion of our portfolio having female CEOs.”

€5m raised by period underwear company that aims to transform how society views the menstrual cycle

Europe-based period underwear company Snuggs has raised €5 million. According to reports, the funding will go towards expanding Snuggs’ retail presence and helping to cement period underwear as a mainstream alternative to disposable products.

The company’s products can currently be found across Europe, including the UK and the brand is now looking at driving international growth.

Tech4Eva global Femtech accelerator 2025 programme

The application deadline has now been extended for the Tech4Eva global Femtech accelerator 2025 programme.

The new deadline is now 22 February, 2025, and the programme is looking for groundbreaking femtech startups ready to scale, disrupt, and make a difference.

The six-month equity-free accelerator provides expert coaching and business model refinement, go-to-market strategy support, direct access to top investors and industry leaders, and a global network of Femtech innovators.

The programme is looking for solutions to improve women’s health in areas such as pregnancy & postpartum, mental health and wellbeing, period health, fertility and infertility, endometriosis, sexual and pelvic health, oncology, menopause care, prevention and treatment, bone and brain health, immune and heart diseases.