Comment: How industry unity in femtech can be a catalyst for women’s health innovation

By Sheena D. Franklin, founder of K’ept Health, a women’s focused heath informatics company.

The femtech industry is at a turning point. What started as a niche sector has evolved into a multi-billion-dollar powerhouse addressing critical gaps in women’s health. Yet, despite this rapid growth, femtech founders still face major roadblocks—limited investment, regulatory hurdles, and the lack of comprehensive data needed to drive real change.

For femtech to truly transform women’s health and establish itself as an essential pillar of healthcare innovation, we need to move beyond working in isolation. A more connected, collaborative ecosystem will help shift the perception of femtech from a specialized market to a driving force behind broader healthcare reform.

Breaking silos to build a stronger femtech ecosystem

One of the biggest challenges in femtech today is fragmentation. Companies are making incredible strides in fertility, menopause, chronic disease management, and more—but often in isolation. Without deeper collaboration, we risk redundancy—tackling the same problems separately instead of driving collective progress.

This isn’t just an obstacle—it’s a missed opportunity. Too many femtech founders navigate regulatory hurdles, consumer trust issues, and market education barriers alone, without tapping into the collective knowledge of their peers. The truth is, no single company can solve all the unmet needs in women’s health on its own. But by sharing insights, resources, and lessons learned, founders can accelerate progress—not just for their own companies, but for the entire industry.

Other sectors have successfully made this shift. Fintech, for example, has thrived by forming alliances to drive financial inclusion. Femtech can take a similar approach by fostering open dialogue, creating strategic partnerships, and embracing collaboration as a growth strategy. When femtech companies support one another, the industry moves faster, innovation happens more efficiently, and—most importantly—women get better solutions, sooner.

The power of data collaboration to overcome silos

Breaking down silos is one thing—but real progress happens when companies collaborate on data. Many femtech companies collect valuable user-generated health data, yet without a secure way to share and analyse these insights, the industry misses a huge opportunity to drive systemic change.

Understandably, concerns over competitive advantage and patient trust make data-sharing a tricky subject. But companies that find responsible, privacy-focused ways to collaborate on data will lead the next wave of women’s health innovation.

A prime example is the FemIndex by K’ept Health, which is pioneering responsible data collaboration in women’s health. Using federated machine learning, the FemIndex allows secure data sharing across multiple femtech sectors while protecting user privacy. Instead of working in silos, companies can contribute to and benefit from a diverse, high-quality dataset that strengthens AI models, accelerates drug discovery and improves precision medicine.

Industry-wide collaboration is also taking shape through initiatives like The Wonder Woman Collective, which unites femtech companies to streamline specialty care, close coverage gaps, and reduce costs for conditions like migraines, hypothyroidism, and PCOS. This collective is also working to engage payers, conduct cost-saving studies, and advocate for increased federal investment in women’s health. As part of the initiative, participating companies will share anonymized medical records to support R&D efforts.

By combining specialised care platforms with advanced data-sharing infrastructures, we can create a network-driven approach that strengthens femtech’s ability to scale while accelerating progress across the entire industry.

Strength in numbers: Industry standards, policy, and investment

Beyond technology and data, a united femtech sector can wield more influence in shaping policy, investment trends, and regulatory frameworks.

Setting industry standards is key to solidifying femtech as a major force in healthcare. By defining best practices for women’s health technologies, femtech leaders can ensure innovations are safe, effective, and widely trusted. Standardized guidelines also make it easier to secure regulatory approval, attract investors, and drive adoption.

A unified femtech industry can also push for better reimbursement models, clear clinical validation pathways, and stronger partnerships with healthcare providers. Working together, femtech leaders can advocate for insurance coverage that makes solutions more affordable and accessible. Deeper collaboration with hospitals and health systems will drive mainstream adoption and bridge the gaps in traditional care models—positioning femtech as an integral part of modern healthcare.

A united femtech future

Other industries have shown that competitors can work together to drive collective success. In the automotive sector, manufacturers collaborate on safety standards and emissions regulations, raising industry-wide standards while still competing in the market. In pharma, companies share research data to accelerate drug discovery, recognizing that advancing healthcare benefits everyone.

Femtech must do the same. The question is no longer whether should we work together—it’s how quickly we can embrace this shift. The future of femtech depends on our willingness to share knowledge, advocate collectively, and build a unified front that cements femtech as a critical part of the healthcare landscape.

Now is the time to move forward—together.

Sheena D. Franklin is founder of K’ept Health, a women’s focused heath informatics company. He other roles include chair of the Women’s Health Working Group for the Consumer Technology Association, where she leads standards creation for women’s health technology, and a trusted advisor to the American Medical Association and the Aspen Institute.