💸 Investor Spotlight: Meet Elizabeth Bailey, MD of RH Capital
FemWealth Issue #122
Hi FemWealth Friends,
Hope you’re enjoying the summer to the fullest! ☀️
In today’s edition of FemWealth, I’m thrilled to introduce a recently launched series featuring top VC investors, spanning different industries and stages. The first edition featured Tasneem Dohadwala, Founding Partner at Excelestar Ventures, a US-based early-stage firm that invests in medical devices and B2B technology platform companies.
The latest edition (below) features Elizabeth Bailey, Managing Director at RH Capital and one of the leading advocates and cheque writers in women’s health in the US.
If you are a female VC and would like to be featured in a future edition, please get in touch at femwealth@substack.com.
Investor Spotlight 💸
FemWealth Favourites ❤️
Startups: ADARx Pharmaceuticals, A Leader in Next Generation RNA Therapeutics, Announces Oversubscribed $200 Million Series C Financing - Led by Zhen Li, the San Diego-based startup develops RNA therapeutics for treating diseases across a range of therapeutic areas, including genetic, cardiovascular, complement-mediated, and central nervous system. Bain Capital Life Sciences and TCGX co-led the company’s $200 million Series C.
Alltrna raises $109M for ‘transfer RNA’ drug vision - Led by Michelle Werner, the US-based startup aims to treat genetic conditions by focusing on transfer RNA molecules. Alltrna raised a $109 million Series B round from Flagship Pioneering and other investors.
Danish biotech firm Bactolife is developing binding proteins to boost gut health - Co-founded by Sandra Wingaard Thrane (CSO), Bactolife aims to enhance gut health. The Copenhagen-based startup raised more than €30 million in a Series A funding round led by ATHOS, with participation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and existing investors.
Capstan Medical Leverages Robotics to Bring Minimally Invasive Care to Heart Valve Patients - Led by CEO Maggie Nixon, the US-based startup is developing minimally invasive technology to address heart valve disease. It raised a $31.4 million Series B round led by Eclipse Ventures and joined by Intuitive Ventures and Puma Venture Capital.
Germany’s Kraftblock raises €20M Series B for sustainable thermal storage technology - Susanne König is a co-founder and CFO of the German startup that helps heavy industry decarbonise by storing and utilising formerly lost or wasted heat. Shell Ventures led the round.
Rightfoot Launches Zero-Login Financial Data for Financial Institutions and Lenders - Co-founded by Danielle Pensack (CEO) and Deirdre Clute (COO), the San Francisco-based startup announced its $15M Series A raise and unveiled Connect Magic, a zero-login, consumer-permissioned financial data platform. Blue Lion Global and Renegade Partners led the round, with participation from Bain Capital Ventures (BCV), Box Group, and Kraken Ventures.
VR design platform ShapesXR secures $8.6M for expansion to new devices - Founded and led by Inga Petryaevskaya, ShapesXR is a VR design and collaboration platform. Supernode Global led the company’s seed round, with Triptyq VC, Boost VC, Hartmann Capital, Geek Ventures, a.o. also participating.
Catch+Release is building an AI-powered search engine to help brands license user-generated content - Founded and led by Analisa Goodin, Catch+Release raised an $8 million extension round from existing investor Accel, alongside Cervin, Stagwell, HarbourVest Partners, 35V, a.o.
KetoSwiss raises $4.8M to drive development of migraine fighting food - The Basel-based biotech startup, founded and led by Dr. Elena Gross, developed a clinically tested, patent-protected dietary therapy for migraines. The company secured $4.8 million in pre-series A funding.
Flo Recruit Raises $4.2M to Enhance Its Legal Recruitment Software - Co-founded and led by Katherine Allen, the US-based startup helps law firms attract talent from law schools and other firms. It raised a $4.2 million seed round co-led by LiveOak Venture Partners and Moneta Ventures, with participation from Tau Ventures, and Alumni Ventures.
Children’s speech therapy platform Mable Therapy bags £3.1M funding and appoints a new CEO - The UK-based startup, co-founded by Martha Currie secured £3.1 million from Gresham House Ventures, to develop its intra-therapy app, and expand access to speech therapy and mental health support for children.
Basys.ai grabs $2.4M for its prior authorization tech powered by Mayo Clinic’s data - The US-based startup, co-founded by Jie Sun, helps health plans and health systems adopt value-based care, starting with prior authorization. Basys.ai raised $2.4 million in pre-seed funding, led by Nina Capital, with participation from Eli Lilly (Lilly Ventures), Mayo Clinic, Two Lanterns Venture Partners, Asset Management Ventures, and Chaac Ventures.
Pigment Start-Up Nature Coatings Secures $2.45 Million Investment - Founded and led by Jane Palmer, Nature Coatings develops high-performing, cost-competitive, bio-based pigments for textiles, printing, and coatings. It secured $2.45 million in a seed funding round led by early-stage venture fund Regeneration.VC and The 22 Fund.
Satim secures $2 million to advance satellite SAR imagery software - Co-founded by Stanisława Porzycka-Strzelczyk, Krakow-based Satim, focuses on software aimed at automatic object detection, identification, and classification capabilities using satellite SAR (synthetic aperture radar) imagery. It secured $2 million in a new round led by Cultivation Capital.
Grapevine Closes $1.85M Total Seed Funding Round - Led by founder Emily Rasmussen, the New York-based collaborative giving platform raised $1.67 million in equity financing with an additional $180k in grants. PJC led the round with participation from Ulu Ventures, WTI, Social Good Fund, Focus Impact Partners, Notation, Ground Squirrel Ventures, Overton Venture Capital, Claire Diaz-Ortiz (Founder of Twitter Social Impact Team), and Gaingels.
How to hire a chief product officer - Anna Kuriakose, CPO at SumUp shares her best insights on when it’s the best time to hire a CPO and what to look for in candidates.
VC & PE: South African VC Knife Capital closes $50M Series B fund for startups with high exit potential - Co-led by Managing Partner Andrea Bohmert, the South African growth-stage investor reached the final close of its $50 million third fund.
Pretiosum Ventures hits first close on its second fund to back infrastructure startups - Founded by Yana Abramova, the London-based firm announced the first close of its second fund targeted at $20 million. The solo GP fund backs “infrastructure” startups (enterprise SaaS, fintech, and web3), with ticket sizes in the $250,000 to $500,000 range.
VC isn’t about predictions or patterns anymore — here’s how it’s changing
“Fundamentally we need to think differently about what purpose data collection is serving, which will enable us to move from producing predictions to producing insights.” - Lily Shaw, Investor at Omers Ventures
Removing mirroring in VC: how to level the funding field for female founders
“I think there aren’t enough exited serial female entrepreneurs who can funnel money back into the ecosystem. There also aren't enough female partners and women with the power to write cheques and make decisions at the big firms. There needs to be more investors who are supporting them at the earliest stages so they can get into the pipeline”. - Samira Ann Qassim, Co-founder and Partner at Pink Salt Ventures
Fearless Fund responds to racial discrimination lawsuit - The Atlanta-based fund investing solely in women founders of colour, responded to the suit filed against it by the American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER) and pledged to continue its work.
Kim Kardashian Taps Ex-Apple, Burberry Executive for Private-Equity Firm (WSJ $) - Skky Partners, Kim Kardashian’s private equity firm, hired Angela Ahrendts (former SVP of Apple Retail and CEO of Burberry) as a senior operating adviser.
Career Opportunity: Seedcamp is looking for a Visiting Analyst. Apply here.
Business: The World Needs More Women Fund Managers, Says $49 Billion CIO (Bloomberg $) - Features Sonya Sawtell-Rickson, investment chief at Australian pension fund HESTA
Foreign Pressure Is Leading to More Women on Japan’s Boards (Bloomberg $)
In the Know: Women make up 17% of Nikkei 225 index firms’ board seats
Tech: Meet Window Snyder, the trailblazer who helped secure the internet and billions of devices - Features Window Snyder, cybersecurity pioneer, and Founder and CEO at Thistle Technologies
Women’s Health: Mirvie Receives a $4.6M Grant from the Gates Foundation to Study Preeclampsia in Sub-Saharan Africa - The US-based prenatal diagnostics company received a $4.6 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to launch study sites in Cameroon, Ghana, and Zambia with the aim of understanding preeclampsia among pregnant women in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).
Culture: ‘Barbie’ makes history with $1 billion at the box office - Greta Gerwig became the first solo female director with a billion-dollar movie.
Gender Equality: From tennis courts to corporate governance, here’s how far diversity, equity, and inclusion have come - By Billie Jean King, a former No. 1-ranked tennis player and co-founder of the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative; and Aniela Unguresan, Founder and CEO of EDGE Certification
What I’m Reflecting On 💭
Eight Months Pregnant and Arrested After False Facial Recognition Match (NYT $) - Porcha Woodruff is the first woman in the US known to be wrongfully accused as a result of facial recognition technology. Read more here.
Thank you for reading FemWealth! 🥰
Until next Sunday,
Anamaria
Founder & Writer of FemWealth