💸 Female-led THENA Capital Secures £27M to Back Health Startups in the UK
FemWealth Issue #203
Hi FemWealth Friends,
In the Spotlight 💸
Founded and led by Tatum Getty, Pamela Walker Geddes, and Esther Reynal de St Michel Richardot, London-based THENA Capital announced the first close of its fund targeted at £50 million, having secured £27 million. It aims to back high-potential founders in oncology, chronic conditions, cardiovascular, neurology, mental health, care service delivery, and women’s health.
This is the UK’s first specialized early-stage medtech venture fund led by an all-female team.
Read more: THENA Capital Raises £27M to Transform UK Medtech and Women’s Health
FemWealth Favourites ❤️
Startups: Deutsche Bank commits £250M to British fintech Abound - Co-founded by Dr Michelle He, Abound provides AI-driven lending. The UK-based fintech secured £250 million in financing from Deutsche Bank.
Epicrispr raises $68M, will start clinical trial of epigenetic editing for FSHD (Endpoints News $) - Led by Amber Salzman, Epicrispr Biotechnologies develops treatments for neuromuscular disease. The South San Francisco-based biotech company closed $68 million in Series B funding led by Ally Bridge Group and joined by SOLVE FSHD and others.
YC alum Mendel, a ‘Ramp for LatAm enterprises,’ raises $35M Series B - Co-founded by Helena Polyblank, Mendel provides a corporate spend management platform. The Mexico City-based startup raised $35 million in a Series B round led by Base10 Partners, with participation from PayPal Ventures, Endeavor Catalyst, Infinity Ventures, Industry Ventures, and Hi.vc.
Why Layer Health And Investors Believe It Can Solve Healthcare AI’s Scalability Challenge With A Fresh $21 Million - Co-founded by Monica Agrawal and Divya Gopinath, Layer Health applies large language models (LLMs) to perform data abstraction for medical chart reviews. The US-based company secured a $21 million Series A led by Define Ventures, with participation from Flare Capital Partners, GV, and MultiCare Capital Partners.
RockFi Raises $19 Million to Expand Wealth Management Platform - Co-founded by Marie Bedu, RockFi provides private wealth management services. The Paris-based fintech raised €18 million in Series A funding led by Partech and joined by Varsity and angel investors.
Former Meta executives raise $15 million for AI assistant startup - Co-founded and co-led by Devi Parikh, Yutori develops AI personal assistants. The San Francisco-based startup raised $15 million in Seed funding led by Radical Ventures and joined by Felicis, “AI godmother” Fei-Fei Li, and Google DeepMind chief scientist Jeff Dean.
Waste reduction startup Topanga raises $8M Series A (Axios Pro $) - Co-founded and led by Page Schult, Topanga uses AI to help commercial kitchens reduce food waste and packaging costs. The Los Angeles startup raised an $8 million Series A round led by Blue Bear Capital, with Struck Capital, Amasia, and Wonder Ventures also participating.
Intelliseq secures €4.5M to enhance DNA analysis and genetic diagnostics - Co-founded and led by Klaudia Szklarczyk-Smolana, Intelliseq is developing bioinformatics tools that enable automated DNA analysis and support genetic diagnostics. The Polish startup raised €4.5 million led by Vinci HiTech, with participation from Unfold.vc and private investors.
Uresta Launches U.S. Expansion with $3M Funding to Address Bladder Leaks - Co-founded and led by Lauren Barker, Uresta specializes in bladder leak solutions. The startup officially launched in the United States, with $3 million in funding from investors including BDC Capital.
Differential Bio emerges from stealth with €2M funding to solve biomanufacturing's scaling problem - Co-founded by Dong Zhao, Differential Bio aims to redefine biomanufacturing by integrating advanced microbiology, lab automation, and artificial intelligence. The German biomanufacturing startup raised €2 million co-led by Ananda Impact Ventures and ReGen Ventures, with participation from Carbon13, Climate Capital, Better Ventures, CDTM Ventures, and angel investors.
Female Founders Fund invests in its first repeat founder with a new retail tech startup from the former CEO of Eloquii - Co-founded and led by Mariah Chase, Ekyam.ai provides a “middleware” software service, built to communicate among retailers’ many disparate tech platforms. The US startup raised a $2 million Pre-Seed round led by Female Founders Fund.
London-based Maiven secures €1.7M to help businesses navigate climate policies with AI - Co-founded by Georgie Steele, Maiven is building an AI-powered solution to help medium and large enterprises operating in high carbon intensity sectors avoid costs and maximise revenue opportunities. The London-based startup raised €1.7 million from Pale Blue Dot, Ada Ventures, Tiny VC, Ventures Together, and Earth.
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Until next Sunday,
Anamaria
Founder & Writer of FemWealth