A women’s and children’s health technology fund has raised US$58m at its first close towards a target size of US$125m.

Managed by Cross-Border Impact Ventures (CBIV), the Children’s Health Technology Fund II will invest in companies developing technologies for conditions that affect women and children specifically, differently or disproportionately.

It will mainly target Series A and Series B companies developing medical devices, diagnostics, therapeutics and AI-enabled digital health technologies, while retaining the option to invest earlier in selected high-potential businesses.

Annie Thériault, managing partner at Cross-Border Impact Ventures, said: “Women’s and children’s health is one of the largest and most attractive opportunities in healthcare today.

“We’re seeing a convergence of scientific innovation, policy support and institutional capital that is accelerating the development of technologies with the potential to improve millions of lives.

“This is a true blue sky opportunity, one where competition remains limited, and the potential to generate outsized returns is significant.

“Fund I validated our investment strategy, and Fund II allows us to build on that momentum at a time when the market is ripe for investment.”

The first close attracted commitments from returning and new institutional investors, and the fund is expected to reach its final close in 2027.

Its predecessor raised US$90.3m and invested in 11 technology companies across maternal and fetal health, neonatal care, cardiovascular disease, oncology, respiratory health, reproductive health and gut health.

The first fund also achieved a strategic exit and helped its portfolio companies reach more than 356,000 women and children across 32 countries.

The second fund will continue to focus on early-growth-stage deep technology companies commercialising healthcare technologies that could generate financial returns alongside measurable health outcomes.

A climate element has also been added to the investment process, while the approach to measuring impact has been strengthened.

The healthcare sectors covered by the investment strategy are estimated to be worth US$625bn today and are projected to grow to US$1.1tn by 2035.

The forecast is linked to advances in AI, diagnostics, medical devices and precision medicine, alongside increased attention on longstanding gaps in healthcare for women and children.

CBIV said its second Women’s and Children’s Health Technology Fund builds on the strategy used for its first vehicle.

Since launching in 2021, CBIV has built an investment platform focused on women’s and children’s health technologies.

The firm has reviewed more than 2,000 investment opportunities since launching its first fund, selecting 11 companies with technologies intended to deliver commercial returns and measurable health impact.

Alongside providing capital, CBIV works with portfolio companies on commercialisation, regulatory and market expansion strategies, access to non-dilutive funding and governance through board participation.

It also works to expand healthcare access in underserved markets through its impact platform.

CBIV said this approach has helped portfolio companies secure FDA clearances, complete strategic exits, expand into more than 30 countries, attract further investment and grow across high-income and low- and middle-income markets.

Portfolio companies include Sonio, which develops AI-powered fetal ultrasound software and was acquired by Samsung Medison in 2024.

The integration of Sonio’s technology into Samsung ultrasound systems is under way, with the aim of expanding access globally.

Cardiosense received US FDA De Novo approval for its PCWP Analysis Software, which enables non-invasive assessment of a key indicator used in heart failure. The company says this includes forms of the disease affecting 1.5m women in North America.

mOm Incubators received US FDA clearance for its neonatal incubator and has deployed devices in hospitals and humanitarian settings across several regions. The company estimates the technology has reached 18,000 patients.

Daye has launched a patented diagnostic tampon for HPV and vaginal health screening. The technology has been piloted in the NHS and is expanding into North America and sub-Saharan Africa.

More than 13,000 patients have used the technology, with peer-reviewed clinical validation carried out across the UK, Tanzania and Nigeria.

Investors committing to the second fund include KfW on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Skoll Foundation with Capricorn Investment Group, Ceniarth, Equality Fund with RockCreek Group and Wire Group.

Several family offices and high-net-worth individuals have also invested, with some returning investors increasing their commitments.

CBIV said its investment and impact approach received BlueMark Platinum status in 2024, complies with SFDR Article 9 and has received multiple ImpactAssets Emerging Impact Manager designations.

Donna Parr, managing partner at Cross-Border Impact Ventures, said: “Fund I reinforced what we’ve believed from the beginning: some of the most compelling investment opportunities in healthcare exist in areas that have historically received too little attention.

“Advances in AI, diagnostics, medical devices and precision medicine are creating entirely new opportunities to improve care for women and children while building highly valuable companies. We’re seeing growing recognition from investors that financial returns and measurable health impact are mutually reinforcing.”

Cambridge health tech company TidalSense has secured £14.2m in funding led by Cross-Border Impact Ventures to expand its AI-powered lung disease test across the NHS and into Europe and the US.

The investment, which also includes returning backers BGF, Airstream Capital and Foresight Group, will fund the rollout of a handheld diagnostic device that can detect chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in as little as five minutes.

It will also support the development of software to diagnose asthma using the same platform.

Donna Parr is managing partner at Cross-Border Impact Ventures.

She said: We look for technology that doesn’t just have a compelling story, but a body of clinical evidence behind it.

“TidalSense has both, with a CEO who has lived the problem she’s solving, and a product that’s already live within the NHS healthcare environment, saving time for patients who have waited years for an answer.

“It is also technology that can improve access to appropriate treatment for COPD sufferers on a global basis and especially for women who are often misdiagnosed.

“This is exactly the kind of impact we want to make with our investments.”

COPD, a progressive condition that restricts airflow and makes breathing increasingly difficult, is the third leading cause of death in England, according to the NHS.

It is responsible for about 30,000 deaths each year and costs the health service an estimated £1.9bn annually.

The company believes its technology could transform how respiratory disease is diagnosed by replacing the need for conventional spirometry in many settings.

Patients simply breathe normally into the handheld device for 75 seconds while artificial intelligence analyses the breath in real time.

A diagnosis is then displayed on screen, allowing clinicians to complete the entire process in around five minutes.

TidalSense says the technology allows clinicians to assess as many as six patients an hour, compared with roughly one an hour using spirometry, which has remained the standard diagnostic test for COPD despite changing little since it was first developed in the 19th century.

Spirometry requires patients to perform forceful breathing manoeuvres and typically needs specialist staff to administer.

TidalSense chief executive Ameera Patel said: “Our ambition is really bold and broad, and it is to have a really significant impact at a population level on chronic respiratory diseases like COPD and asthma.

“We want the test to be available to anyone the first time they present with symptoms, so there’s no bias in accessibility based on where you live, your socio-economic status or your ethnicity.”

Founded in 2013 by chief engineering officer Julian Carter, who holds a PhD in microelectronics and has more than 35 years’ experience developing medical devices, TidalSense has spent more than a decade building the technology.

Its AI models have been trained on more than 2.5 million recorded breaths to identify the distinctive patterns associated with COPD.

The device was introduced into the NHS last year and is now being used by public health providers in Suffolk, north-east Essex, Wales, Glasgow and community lung screening clinics across the south of England.

Flexible working could help more women entrepreneurs become leaders of family firms by making it easier to balance work and family life, new research suggests.

Digital workplace tools may allow women to take a greater role in strategic decision-making and other leadership duties while maintaining family responsibilities. the report found.

They could also challenge the assumption that effective leaders must always be physically present at work.

Co-author Professor Kirk Chang said: “Technology such as Microsoft Teams and cloud-based collaboration platforms can create new opportunities for talented women to demonstrate leadership. But lasting change depends on family businesses judging leaders by their performance rather than their physical presence.”

Researchers from the University of East London say tools such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Workspace and cloud-based business systems can shift the focus from office attendance to measurable performance.

Cloud-based systems are online services that give employees remote access to documents, software and business information.

Family businesses are often considered family-friendly employers, but women can still face barriers to senior positions.

Leadership in these companies often passes between generations through informal family decisions rather than formal recruitment.

Traditional expectations around gender roles can make it harder for women with caring responsibilities to be seen as potential successors, particularly when being visible in the workplace is treated as a sign of commitment.

The researchers say digital workplace technology could make women’s contributions more visible while helping them manage work and family responsibilities.

Their proposed framework sets out four ways digital working could support women’s progression: building confidence, creating opportunities to take part in strategic decisions, increasing business knowledge and changing perceptions of who is ready to lead.

The authors stress that technology alone will not remove the barriers women face in reaching leadership roles. Family businesses must also develop cultures that value results over physical presence and actively support women pursuing senior positions.

Dr Ozlem Ozdemir, from the Royal Docks School of Business and Law, said: “Family businesses are built around close relationships, but that does not automatically make them easier places for women to become leaders. It can be tougher for women family members to be seen as ambitious professionals.

“Digital workplace tools can help shift the focus from who is seen most often in the office to who is making the strongest contribution.”

The paper draws its conclusions from existing research and proposes a framework showing how digital workplace innovation may improve work-life balance and support more women to become future leaders in family businesses.