Femtech companies: five rising startups in America

With growing investments in the femtech industry, start-ups focused on women’s health are at its highest level ever. Femtech World explores five rising startups in America.

The main applications of femtech are pregnancy care, period trackers, fertility and services related to women’s sexual health. This industry is one the fastest-growing sectors in health tech, with more than US$200B spent on femtech each year, which is rapidly increasing thanks to investors.

Here are five rising American femtech startups to look out for.

Allara Health

Allara Health is a telehealth startup focused on treating women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). With an average US$100 joining fee, the app counted around 35K women who were using the app or who were in a waiting list as of summer 2021.

Users are paired with both medical providers and a registered dietitian. Both of them review the users’ history, giving a full evaluation with blood tests and diagnostics as needed. 

The care team create an holistic care plan to tackle the users’ symptoms, which may include dietary and lifestyle changes, nutrition counselling and medication.

During the process, the care team provides support through tech and video to make sure the care plan is suitable for the user.

Allara uses both metabolic and hormonal testing and provides support with people who are knowledgable on PCOS.

Elektra Health

Elektra Health is a healthcare platform aimed at addressing women going through perimenopause and menopause. The startup offers symptom-based programs, virtual care visits with menopause specialists and asynchronous messaging support.

According to Elektra, one fifth of women consider leaving their job due to menopause symptoms. 

Elektra supports menopausal women in a moment when 44 per cent of them feel they do not receive enough menopause support from their employers. 

The startup main goal is to “smash the menopause taboo by empowering women with evidence-based education, care and community”.

Every Mother

Every Mother is a platform that offers evidence-based exercise therapy for mothers. Focusing on core and pelvic floor exercises, the programme has been shown to repair diastases recti and improve core strength.

To start the programme, users must pick a payment plan and must answer some simple questions that will help the app find the perfect programme for them. 

The programme provides exercises programme for every phase of motherhood, there are programmes for: prenatal, postpartum, diastases recti, prolapse, incontinence, surgical recovery, pelvic pain and sexual health. 

A recent study proved the effectiveness of the programme on diastases recti.

Joylux

Joylux is a menopause-focused startup that aims to solve common health issues women face as they age. The company offers wellness devices called vSculpt and vFit Gold, which are the first and only smart devices that use red light to improve bladder function, sexual function and vaginal dryness.

Dr, Sarah de la Torre, Ob-Gyn, along with a team of scientists, urologists and engineers, is studying the impact of Joylux’s technology on vaginal health and sexual function.

After five years, numerous studies, more than 200 women, several peer-reviewed papers and millions invested, the company’s products have been proven to have a positive impact on women who are facing ageing issues. 

Carrot Fertility

Carrot Fertility is a fertility benefits company that targets employers and health plans. Companies can offer these benefits to employees, who can receive medical, emotional and financial support as they navigate the journey to parenthood.

Specific services include egg freezing, IVF, donor and gestational carrier services and more. 

According to Carrot, 68 per cent of adults say they’d switch jobs to gain fertility benefits and 50 per cent of millennial consider fertility to be a core part of health coverage, which make the company a rising femtech startup.