Start-up inne raises US$10m to expand hormone-tracking platform

Inne, a start-up leveraging technology to empower women to understand their reproductive health, has raised an additional US$10m in funding to continue developing its ‘minilab’ and platform.

Founded in 2017 by Eirini Rapti, who previously worked in the healthcare sector, inne was created to help women harness the power of technology to understand more about the hormonal levels of their bodies.

Using inne’s biosensor minilab, women can discover their daily progesterone levels – a key indicator of reproductive health and an ovulation indicator – by performing a daily saliva test. By using saliva – rather than temperature –  the minilab has been proven to be as accurate as a lab progesterone test, to produce a more precise picture of a woman’s menstrual cycle.

Inne is now expanding its progesterone tracking feature to perimenopause through an exclusive US partnership. As part of the offering, the minilab will be leveraged to help women track hormonal changes during perimenopause.

Women will be able to use the data tracked by the minilab to understand more about ovulation and how their progesterone levels may cause or worsen certain symptoms, giving them the information they need to make lifestyle changes to minimise side effects.

“Women’s health is consistently one of the most under-funded areas of medical research, with women only officially required to be included in clinical research in the US for the first time in 1993,” says Eirini Rapti, founder and CEO at inne. “This means that women have less information about what is happening to their bodies and that makes it harder for them to improve their health and lifestyle.

“This gap has been a driving force for me in creating inne and I’m thrilled that we are now able to help women learn about their bodies and be proactive in managing their own health and fertility. Inne can be the trusted partner for millions of women around the world, democratising the access to insight and information.”

The start-up will also be adding the ability to analyse stress through a dedicated cortisol tracking strip. Sustained cortisol levels affect the body by lowering oestrogen levels which can lead to weight gain, night sweats, sleep problems and mood swings. By tracking cortisol levels, women will be able to use these insights to make lifestyle adjustments to improve their long-term health. This can be particularly useful if they are trying to get pregnant or manage perimenopause symptoms.

Inne will launch its perimenopause feature initially in the US in a closed beta with its partner, Phenology, with an expanded product launch later this year. The cortisol tracking feature will also be available in the US in 2022. Both features will be launched in Europe and the UK at a later date.

The US$10m fund has brought the total funding raised to US$18.8m from new and existing investors, along with strategic health and women investors. This will enable the company to expand its team and invest more in data science, algorithmic development and content, so it can continue to provide personalised health data.

Pieter Wolters, managing director at DSM Venturing, one of the firms leading the US$10m fund, says that: “We believe the market for women’s health is largely underserved, and inne’s hormone tracking technology gives women greater control in managing and navigating their own hormonal health journey.

“We are excited to be supporting inne through an investment and a close collaboration with Hologram Sciences.”

For more info, visit inne.io.