💸 Rachel Blank's Allara Raises $10M Series A to Support Women with Chronic Hormonal Conditions
FemWealth Issue #132
Hi FemWealth Friends!
In today’s edition: Rachel Blank’s Allara raised $10M to support women with chronic hormonal conditions; Winnie Lai’s raised $5M to develop a new electromagnetic rocket launch system; German early-stage VC La Famiglia, co-led by General Partners Jeannette zu Fürstenberg and Judith Dada, is merging with US VC firm General Catalyst.
In the Spotlight 💸
Founded and led by Rachel Blank, Allara is a New York–based telehealth startup that helps connect women with chronic hormonal conditions (e.g. polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis) with qualified medical practitioners and registered dietitians via its platform.
Blank, who was diagnosed with PCOS at 21, experienced firsthand the challenges of receiving adequate care:
“I sought support from various doctors and specialists, did my own research, and played whack-a-mole with lifestyle changes, but wasn’t able to find effective and holistic care for my condition. There is no FDA-approved treatment for this widespread, chronic condition.” - Rachel Blank, Founder and CEO at Allara (via TechCrunch)
The company secured a $10 million Series A round led by Google Ventures (GV), including Great Oaks Venture Capital, Humbition, Vanterra, Gaingels, and angel investors. GV’s general partner Frédérique Dame will join the company’s board of directors.
Read more: Allara, a telehealth platform for women with chronic hormonal conditions, raises $10M Series A
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Startups: Waymark scores $42M in fresh funding, including investment from CVS - Co-founded by Afia Asamoah, JD MPP (Head of People and Legal), the San Francisco-based public benefit corporation deploys technology to assist providers in managing care for Medicaid beneficiaries and other underserved groups. It raised $42 million in debt and equity led by Lux Capital, with CVS Health Ventures and previous investors Andreessen Horowitz and NEA also participating.
Joor orders up $25M for wholesale management (Axios Pro $) - Led by Kristin Savilia, the New York-based wholesale management platform raised $25 million in equity and debt funding. Brightwood Capital and Tamarix Capital Partners co-led the round.
Society Brands Raises Additional $25M in Equity Funding - Co-founded by Shawn Dougherty, Society Brands is a US-based tech-enabled consumer products company that acquires e-commerce native brands that primarily sell on their own DTC sites and platforms like Amazon, Walmart, and others. It raised $25 million from Callais Capital, North Coast Ventures, and Gullane Capital.
SynFutures raises $22 million Series B, bucking ‘crypto winter’ - Co-founded and led by Rachel Lin, SynFutures is a decentralized crypto derivatives exchange. It closed a $22 million Series B funding round led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Susquehanna International Group (SIG) and HashKey Capital.
UK-based Globacap bags €19.93M to drive digitisation and automation of global private capital markets - Co-founded by Joanne Filbin (COO), Globacap is a London-based startup focused on digitizing and automating private capital markets. It raised $21 million in Series B funding from Moore Strategic Ventures, Cboe Global Markets, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, GABI Ventures, and QBN Capital.
Overstory snags $14M Series A to use AI to help utilities cut their wildfire risk - Co-founded by Anniek Schouten (COO), the Amsterdam-based startup uses satellite imagery and AI to provide vegetation management services to electric utilities. It raised a $14 million Series A led by B Capital, with additional support from The Nature Conservancy.
AI startup Imbue gets $12 million in follow-on funding - Co-founded and led by Kanjun Qiu, Imbue focuses on creating a model for enabling autonomous agents, i.e. AI systems that aim to perform more sophisticated personal and work tasks. It secured an additional $12 million in follow-on funding to its Series B round (announced in September), bringing its total raised to over $210 million. Amazon.com’s Alexa Fund and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt participated in the round.
Pair Team Raises $9 Million Series A to Expand Access to Health Care Services for Medicaid’s Most Vulnerable Patients - Co-founded by Cassie Choi, US-based Pair Team is a virtual and community-based primary care solution connecting Medicaid’s highest-risk patients to high-quality care. It raised a $9 million Series A round led by Next Ventures, and including Y Combinator, PTX Capital, Kapor Capital, and Kleiner Perkins.
Thoughtful takes in $7M to fight loneliness (Axios Pro $) - Co-founded by Elizabeth Cordry Shaffer, Thoughtful is a mental health app designed to combat loneliness. The company works with psychiatrists to create a “connection style test,” which identifies five personality archetypes determining someone’s relationship values and communication style. It raised $7 million in Seed funding led by VCP Ventures.
Gardenuity scoops up $5.5M seed as it plots expansion (Axios Pro $) - Co-founded by Donna Spafford Letier (CEO) and Julie Mitchell Eggers, Gardenuity is a gardening lifestyle startup. It raised $5.5 million in Seed funding co-led by Anchor Capital and Retail Connection.
Auriga Space Emerges from Stealth with $5M Funding Round - Founded and led by Winnie Lai, Auriga Space is a Los Angeles-based startup developing a new electromagnetic launch system to reduce costs while introducing a clean energy alternative into the launch market. It raised a $5 million round from Trucks VC, Seraphim Space, Possible Ventures, Unlock Ventures, DNX Ventures, Monte Carlo Capital, Vermillion Ventures, Heuristic Capital, and Syndicate 708.
Tofu automates content creation for massive omnichannel B2B marketing campaigns - Co-founded by Elaine Zelby, Tofu is a generative AI-based platform that creates content for large-scale omnichannel B2B campaigns. The California-based company raised $5 million in Seed funding led by Index Ventures, with participation from SignalFire, Stage 2 Capital, and Liquid 2 Ventures.
Hiive, which offers a marketplace to buy and sell shares of private tech companies, lands $4.2M - Co-founded by Sarah Huggins, the Vancouver-based startup raised a $4.2 million round. Uncorrelated Ventures led the deal, joined by Splash Capital, Harmony Venture Partners, Hack VC, a.o.
Vopero, now with $4 million more, provides a clothing resale marketplace for Latin America - Co-founded by Maggie Ferber, Vopero is a full-service fashion marketplace aimed to power the re-sale apparel industry. The Mexico-based company secured $4 million in a funding round led by Cencosud Ventures and joined by existing investor Grupo Axo.
Denmark’s Klimate secures €3.5M Seed funding for carbon removal platform - Co-founded and led by Katja Grothe-Eberhardt, Copenhagen-based Klimate raised €3.5 million in Seed funding for its CO2 asset management platform. Eneco Ventures and Helen Ventures co-led the round, joined by existing investors Rockstart and the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark.
Auquan Raises $3.5M to Accelerate Generative AI for Financial Services, Turning Unstructured Data Into Intelligence - Founded and led by Chandini Jain, Auquan is a London-based data science platform for financial services. It raised $3.5 million in Seed funding led by Neotribe Ventures.
Anonybit raises $3M to further build out biometric security platform Genie - Co-founded and led by Frances Zelazny, Anonybit is a US and Israel-based personal privacy and digital security startup. It raised a $3 million Seed extension round led by Jam Fintop, with participation from Connecticut Innovations.
Insurtech, viteSicure closes a 2 million bridge round (Italian) - Founded and led by Eleonora Del Vento, the Milan-based insurtech raised €2 million bridge round from CDP and Apside (a joint venture led by Intesa Sanpaolo and Digital Magics).
Plan Forward Raises $2M Seed B Funding - Co-founded and co-led by Jane Levy and Megan Lohman, Plan Forward is a US-based dental software startup. It raised $2 million in Seed funding led by Elevate Ventures and joined by IU Ventures and Revere Partners.
Meolaa raises $2 million in seed funding round led by Turbostart - Founded and led by Ishita Sawant, Meolaa is a Bengaluru, India-based startup offering a sustainable consumer products e-commerce platform. It raised a $2 million Seed round led by Turbostart.
Swsh’s new app helps you maintain your friendships through polls and games - Co-founded by Alexandra Debow (CEO) and Weilyn Chong (COO), Swsh is a social app founded by Gen Zers, for Gen Zers that wants to help strengthen true friendships. The startup secured $1.7 million in Pre-Seed funding, in a round co-led by Stellation Capital and MaC Venture Capital, alongside angel investors.
Future proofing coffee Amatera secures €1.5M for non-GMO breeding platform - Co-founded by Lucie Kriegshauser (CTO), Amatera is a Paris-based biotech firm that is developing a non-GMO breeding platform aimed at preserving coffee plants and other crops against climate change and disease. The company raised a €1.5 million Pre-Seed round led by PINC, with participation from Exceptional Ventures, Mudcake, Joyance Partners, Agfunder, and angel investors.
Ingosa Secures Pre-seed Investment from Leading Turkish Investors, Paving the Way for Next-Gen Conversational AI in AdTech - Co-founded by Dürin Artuk and Gökçe Duman, Ingosa is a Turkey-based startup that develops AI customer service chatbots. It raised $1.5 million in Pre-Seed funding.
Berlin startup HealthCaters raises $1.2M for the future of disease prevention
- Co-founded by Tatyana Eliseeva (CEO) and Lily Kruse, Berlin-based remote monitoring healthtech startup offers a self-screening station and AI-powered health coaching app. Barmenia Next Strategies led the company’s Seed round, with the participation of Venpace, DvH Ventures, and angel investor Philipp Götting.
NOLD raises €1 M Seed funding for its sustainable fashion resale platform - Co-founded by Ana Kremenlieva (CEO) and Boryana Uzunova, NOLD helps luxury brands generate additional revenue with second-hand sales. The UK-based company raised a €1 million Seed round led by Tilia Impact Ventures, with support from Depo Ventures, Czech Founders, Sofia Angels Ventures, New Vision 3, and angel investors.
VC: RevRoad Capital raises $61 million for early-stage startups in Utah and beyond - Led by Managing Director Rachelle Morris, Utah-based RevRoad Capital raised $61 million for its debut fund to focus on early-stage investments.
General Catalyst and European early stage fund La Famiglia ‘join forces’ to invest in European startups - German early-stage VC La Famiglia, co-led by General Partners Jeannette zu Fürstenberg and Judith Dada, is merging with US VC firm General Catalyst. Jeannette zu Fürstenberg will become a Managing Director within General Catalyst’s global partnership where she will help develop the firm’s global seed investment programme. Read more.
Claire Valoti (previously VP, EMEA) launched Haylo Ventures, a venture operator specialising in the deep tech sector.
Led by former French minister Fleur Pellerin, Korelya Capital launched a lifestyle vertical to invest in brands in fashion and home, beauty, wellness, hospitality, and food and beverage. The firm’s partner Julie Roze will manage the fund.
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Until next Sunday,
Anamaria
Founder & Writer of FemWealth