💸 Rebecca Egger and Dr. Helen Egger's Little Otter Raises $9.5M for its AI-Powered Family Mental Health Platform
FemWealth Issue #196
Hi FemWealth Friends,
In the Spotlight 💸
Co-founded by mother-daughter duo, Rebecca Egger and Dr. Helen Egger, Little Otter is an AI-powered family mental health platform. It provides full family care, offering mental health support services to young children, teenagers, and parents.
The San Francisco-based company raised $9.5 million in funding from Pivotal Ventures, Torch Capital, Springbank, CRV, Next Legacy, G9, Gratitude Railroad, and Carrie Walton Penner through Fiore Ventures.
FemWealth Favourites ❤️
Startups: Archive raises $30M to solve fashion’s pollution problem with online resales - Co-founded and led by Emily Gittins, Archive is an online platform that helps fashion brands create and manage their resale programs. The San Francisco startup raised a $30 million Series B round led by Energize Capital, with Woodline Partners, Frontline Growth, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Bain Capital Ventures, G9 Ventures, and Capital F also contributing.
Smart grid startup Ionate raises $17m Series A - Co-founded by Luca Mezossy-Dona, IONATE develops smart electricity grid technology. The London-based startup raised a $17 million Series A round led by AlbionVC, with In-Q-Tel, JGC MIRAI Innovation Fund, Santander InnoEnergy Climate Fund, Antares Ventures, IQ Capital, Zero Carbon Capital, and Cycle Group also contributing.
Zest Health Announces $13M in Funding to Curb Unnecessary Pharmaceutical Spend through High-Touch Care - Founded and led by Olivia Deitcher, Zest Health offers virtual care for patients with inflammatory skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis. The New York startup raised a $13 million Seed round led by Roivant Health, with additional support from General Catalyst, Dragoneer, Cigna Ventures, Leverage Health Solutions, Leaps by Bayer, SV Health Investors, H.I.G. Capital, and Bluestem Capital.
AI agents for e-commerce startup, founded by Google and DeepMind alums, raises $10M seed - Co-founded by Dina Alsamhan, Qeen.ai provides autonomous AI agents for e-commerce businesses in the Middle East and beyond. The Dubai-based startup raised $10 million in a Seed round led by Prosus Ventures, with additional contributions from Wamda Capital, 10X Founders Fund, and Dara Holdings.
Desteia Leverages AI and Graph Theory to Alleviate Supply Chain Disruptions - Co-founded by Françoise Lavertu, Desteia is an AI co-pilot for supply chain professionals. The New York City-based startup raised $8 million in Seed funding co-led by Autotech Ventures, Nazca, and Village Global and joined by Foundamental, Bridge Latam, and Nido Ventures.
Neofin Secures $7M Seed Round to Revolutionize Accounts Receivable in Brazil with AI-Powered Solutions - Co-founded and led by Laura Camargo, Neofin is an AI-powered SaaS platform for accounts receivable workflows. The Brazilian startup raised a $7 million round co-led by Quona and Upload Ventures.
Office sharing startup Tandem raises $6.1 million (Axios Pro $) - Co-founded by Kristen Gallogly, Tandem is a marketplace for office space that enables companies to find space on short lease terms. The San Francisco startup raised $6.1 million in Seed funding from Collide Capital, 1984 Ventures, and Y Combinator.
Warmly raises $6M Series A extension to optimise SMB engagement - Co-founded by Carina Boo, Warmly is an AI-powered revenue orchestration platform for SMBs. The San Francisco-based startup raised $6 million in a Series A extension round led by RTP Global, with additional support from Felicis, NFX, and others.
DevAI raises $6M to automate infrastructure management with AI agents - Co-founded and led by Susie Wee, DevAI develops AI agents for enterprise IT. The Palo Alto-based startup raised $6 million in Seed funding led by Emergence Capital and joined by Base10, Benchstrength, and Pear VC.
Modern Synthesis secures $5.5M for bio-based alternatives to animal and plastic-based textiles - Co-founded and led by Jen Keane, Modern Synthesis transforms nanocellulose into a new class of responsible textiles and coatings. The London-based startup raised $5.5 million in a round led by Extantia Capital and joined by Artesian and Collaborative Fund.
H&M and Fuel Ventures back this ambitious female founder with £4.5M to power next-gen luxury retail - Founded and led by Nina Briance, Cult Mia is an online independent luxury fashion marketplace. The London-based startup secured £4.5 million in Seed funding led by Fuel Ventures, alongside H&M Group Ventures, and other investors.
AI tax assistant TaxGPT raises $4.6M seed (Axios Pro $) - Co-founded by Isabella Maceda-Ali, TaxGPT is an AI tax co-pilot for accounting and tax firms. The San Francisco-based startup raised $4.6 million in Seed funding from Rebel Fund, Mangusta Capital, Y Combinator, Launch, iSeed Ventures, Converge Fund, TRAC AI/VC Unicorn Fund, Goodwater Genesis, CRV Disrupt Fund, Principal Venture Partners, and angel investors.
Trayd secures $4.5m to enhance construction payroll solutions - Co-founded by Anna Berger and Cara Kessler, Trayd is an all-in-one construction back office, specializing in payroll and compliance. The New York startup raised a $4.5 million Seed round led by Suffolk Technologies, with Bloomberg Beta, and Y Combinator also participating.
SimpliFed Raises $4M in New Funding to Build More Comprehensive Maternal Care at Home Platform - Founded and led by Andrea Ippolito, SimpliFed is a virtual maternal care provider offering breastfeeding and baby feeding support and high-risk monitoring covered by health plans at no cost to families. The US startup raised a $4 million round led by Morningside, with The Artemis Fund, Cultivation Capital, American Heart Association Social Impact Funds, The Venture Collective, Empire State Development, Waterline Ventures, and angel investors also contributing.
Backed by Mayo Clinic, Nutrix’s hardware monitors worker stress - Founded and led by Maria Hahn, Nutrix launched its hardware, cortiSense which measures cortisol in saliva and is integrated with a digital health platform. The Basel, Switzerland-based company also announced $4 million in funding from Swiss innovation agency, Innosuisse, Mayo Clinic, and private investors. The funding also includes a previously unannounced $2.5 million Seed round co-led by Simpact and OIST-Lifetime Ventures.
Berlin’s Nala Earth raises €3.8M to help businesses manage environmental risks and comply with regulations - Co-founded by Anna Alex, Nala Earth is a nature and biodiversity management platform. The Berlin-based startup raised €3.8 million in a funding round led by Iris and joined by Kompas VC, Pale Blue Dot, and Founderful.
EPYR raises €3M for thermal energy storage - Co-founded by Léa Dardenne, Epyr develops thermal energy storage solutions. The Paris-based startup raised €3 million in a Pre-Seed round co-led by AENU and Daphni, with OVNI Capital and WEPA Ventures also joining in.
THEKER Robotics, the ‘start-up’ building the robots of the future, raises 3 million euros in its first funding round - Co-founded by Carla Gómez Cano, THEKER Robotics develops intelligent general-purpose robots. The Barcelona, Spain-based startup raised €3 million in a funding round led by JME Ventures and joined by MissionVC, S16VC, and Itnig Capital.
KOA Biotech raises €2M for early disease detection for fish farms - Founded and led by Sira Mogas, Koa Biotech provides solutions for the diagnosis and prevention of diseases in aquaculture. The Barcelona-based startup raised €2 million in a round led by Swanlaab Innvierte Agrifood-Tech, with additional support from Fund-F and Faber.
Sotira lands $2M to help brands offload and monetize their surplus inventory - Co-founded and led by Amrita Bhasin, Sotira leverages AI to help companies offload and monetize their surplus inventory. The US company closed a $2 million Pre-Seed round from Unusual Ventures, Night Capital, K5 Global, Ritual Capital, and others.
Comma Secures $2M to Launch Secure Period Tracking App and Develop Diagnostic Solutions - Founded and led by Miller Morris, M.A., M.P.H., Comma is an integrated period care platform. The US startup emerged from stealth with $2 million in Seed funding and the launch of its secure period tracking app, Sara. Techstars participated in the round.
DeepTech startup assemblean raises €1.8 million to revolutionise manufacturing automation - Co-founded by Dr Ing. Xiaojun Yang, assemblean is a manufacturing and supply chain automation platform. The Germany-based startup raised €1.8 million in Seed funding led by B2venture and joined by Archimedes New Ventures and Teuto Seed Club.
Co-founded by Gillean Dean Nordal, Receipts is a B2B fintech simplifying digital receipts and making them automatically available in your mobile bank. The Oslo-based startup raised €1.7 million in a round led by DNB Ventures and joined by Obos, Såkorn 1 Midt, and Antler. (via Sifted)
Ovum Raises $1.7M to Launch AI Health Assistant for Women - Founded and led by Dr Ariella Heffernan-Marks, Ovum develops an AI-powered health assistant focused on women’s health conditions like endometriosis. The Australian medtech startup secured $1.7 million in a round led by impact VC Giant Leap, with participation from Antler, Wollemi Capital, Nakatomi Venture Studio, and LaunchVic’s Alice Anderson Fund.
VC & PE: Cherry Ventures raises a new $500M fund for early-stage and beyond, but will it be enough? - Co-led by General Partner Sophia Bendz, Berlin-based Cherry Ventures closed its latest fund at $500 million, to invest in early-stage rounds and follow on in portfolio companies at Series B and beyond.
European VC firm Emblem raises $85 million for its initial fund - Co-led by Bénédicte de Raphélis Soissan, Emblem, a Paris-based early-stage VC firm raised €80 million for its debut fund. It will lead or co-lead investments in Seed-stage startups in France and the Nordic tech ecosystem, with cheque sizes from €500,000 to €3 million.
Vermillion Cliffs Ventures launches with $13 million debut fund (Fortune $) - Founded and led by Ashley Smith, US-based Vermillion Cliffs Ventures launched with a debut fund of $13 million to back Seed and Pre-Seed startups spanning developer, data, infrastructure, security, and enterprise software.
Ariel Investments Starts New Fund to Tap Into Women’s Sports (Bloomberg $) - Co-led by Mellody Hobson, US-based asset management firm Ariel Investments launched a private equity fund focused on women’s sports.
Founded and led by Mallun Yen, US-based early-stage VC Operator Collective is raising $15 million for its third fund, per an SEC filing. (via Axios)
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Anamaria
Founder & Writer of FemWealth