💸 Seven Starling Raised $10.9M Series A to Support Every Stage of Motherhood
FemWealth Issue #168
Hi FemWealth Friends,
In the Spotlight 💸
Co-founded by Tina Keshani, Sophia Richter, and Julia A. Cole, Seven Starling is a virtual provider of women’s behavioral health services supporting every stage of motherhood. The US company partners with OBGYN clinics across the US and leading health plans to make care easily accessible and affordable.
“We are thrilled to have successfully raised this round of funding, which will allow us to expand our reach and help more women who need support during critical life transitions. This investment is a testament to the demand for a dedicated women’s mental health solution and our commitment to providing accessible, high-quality care.” - Tina Beilinson Keshani, Co-founder and CEO of Seven Starling (via Femtech Insider)
The startup raised $10.9 million in a Series A funding round led by RH Capital and joined by Pear VC, Expa, Magnify Ventures, Emerson Collective, and Inflect Health.
FemWealth Favourites ❤️
Startups: The ‘godmother of AI’ has a new startup already worth $1 billion - Fei-Fei Li, a top artificial intelligence researcher at Stanford, raised hundreds of millions for her startup World Labs which is now valued at $1 billion.
Novo owner backs Swiss biotech Asceneuron in $100 million round - Led by Barbara Angehrn Pavik, Asceneuron develops therapeutics for neurodegenerative disorders. The Lausanne, Switzerland-based company raised $100 million in a Series C funding round led by Novo Holdings. EQT Life Sciences — LSP Dementia Fund, OrbiMed, SR One, M Ventures, Sofinnova Partners, GSK Equities Investments Limited, and Johnson & Johnson Innovation.
Backed by Nvidia and Pfizer, Israeli AI medical startup raises $80m in fresh capital - Co-founded by Elina Starosvetsky, CytoReason uses machine learning to build computational models of human diseases to speed up drug discovery. The Tel Aviv, Israel-based company raised $80 million from OurCrowd, NVIDIA, Pfizer, and Thermo Fisher.
Lhoopa raises $80M to spur more affordable housing in the Philippines - Co-founded by Sabrina Tan, Lhoopa leverages data and advanced solutions to empower local partners in providing affordable homes in emerging markets. The Singaporean startup raised a $20 million equity round, co-led by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Wavemaker Partners. It also secured $60 million in debt.
Truvian Health raises $74M for automated blood diagnostics platform - Co-founded by Dena Marrinucci, Truvian Health is a blood testing platform designed to combine multiple tests into a single test with immediate results. The San Diego, California-based company secured $74 million in a funding round co-led by Wittington Ventures and Great Point Ventures. Existing investors DNS Capital, Medical Excellence Capital, Tao Capital, TYH Capital, and 7wireVentures also joined.
How a B2B payments startup won Max, Jack and Sam Altman, JP Morgan as investors - Co-founded by Alice Deng, Slope is a B2B payments platform offering order-to-cash workflow automation for enterprise companies. The San Francisco-based startup raised $65 million in equity and debt from JPMorgan, YC, Jack Altman, and Saga.
London’s GrowUp lands €45M to grow pesticide-free greens for the UK - Co-founded by Kate Hofman, GrowUp is a London-based vertical farming startup. It raised £38 million from Generate Capital.
Artificial Agency raises $16M to use AI to make NPCs feel more realistic in video games - Co-founded by Alex Kearney, Artificial Agency is an AI behavior engine that aims to transform video games into a more dynamic experience. The Canada-based startup raised $12 million in a Seed round co-led by Radical Ventures and Toyota Ventures, with additional support from Flying Fish, Kaya, BDC Deep Tech, and TIRTA Ventures. The company also announced $4 million in an undisclosed Pre-Seed round from Radical Ventures.
Seattle startup Momento, led by ex-AWS engineers, lands $15M to help companies ship faster - Co-founded by Daniela Miao, Momento is a data infrastructure platform. The Seattle, US-based startup raised $15 million in a Series A funding round led by Bain Capital Ventures, joined by The General Partnership, and angel investors.
Onego Bio secures €14M from EIC Accelerator and investors for fermented egg protein - Co-founded and led by Maija Itkonen, Onego Bio is a Finish precision fermentation foodtech company that offers bio-identical egg protein. It secured €14 million in new funding from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Program and additional Series A investors.
Novocuff nets $26M to reduce preterm births (Axios Pro $) - Co-founded and led by Amelia Degenkolb, Novocuff is a medical device company dedicated to improving pregnancy outcomes and reducing the risk of preterm birth. AXA IM Alts led the company’s $26 million funding round, with additional support from Laerdal Million Lives Fund, Laborie, RH Capital, Avestria Ventures, and March of Dimes.
Integra Therapeutics receives EIC Accelerator funds of up to €10.5M for gene writing tools - Co-founded and led by Avencia Sánchez-Mejías, Integra Therapeutics is a biotech company that aims to create next-generation gene writing tools to boost the efficiency and safety of advanced therapies. The Barcelona-based biotech has been awarded up to €10.5 million from the EU via the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator.
Danish startup Landfolk secures €10.3M to disrupt Europe’s vacation rental market - Co-founded by Camilla Swartz, Landfolk is a marketplace for holiday home rentals. The Aarhus, Denmark-based company raised €10.3 million in Series A funding from EIFO, SEED Capital, and Heartland.
Zivoe to Launch Real-World Asset Credit Protocol Democratizing Access to Credit - Co-founded by Kristal Gruevski, Zivoe is a real-world asset credit protocol. It raised $8.35 million from Andrew Keys, Iceberg Capital, and Concave.
doinstruct raises €7.6M for digital skills training - Co-founded and led by Charlotte Rothert, doinstruct is a platform for frontline worker training. The Berlin, Germany-based startup raised €7.6 million ($8.3 million) in a funding round led by Creandum, with participation from HTGF and D11Z.
itselectric Announces $6.5M Seed To Accelerate Deployment of Curbside EV Charging in cities across the U.S. - Co-founded by Tiya Gordon, itselectric produces electric vehicle chargers designed for cities. The New York-based startup raised $6.5 million in Seed funding. Failup Ventures and Uber Technologies led the round, joined by Halogen Ventures, The Partnership Fund for NYC, Pulse Fund, and others.
Activewear brand TALA lands £5m funding boost from top investors - Founded by influencer Grace Beverley and led by CEO Morgan (Seidler) Fowles, TALA is an activewear brand. The London, UK-based startup raised £5 million ($6.5 million) in a funding round led by Pembroke VCT, joined by existing investors Venrex and Active Partners.
Kindred Health Adds $5.5M in Funding to Transform Women’s Health in the Philippines - Co-founded by Jessica de Mesa-Lim, Kindred Health is a femtech company based in the Philippines. The company completed its Pre-Series A funding round, raising $2.5 million from Integra Partners, Kaya Founders, KSR Ventures, Ava Zobel Pessina, Pawikan Capital Group, Tenco Capital, and angel investors.
Tribe AI raised venture capital to keep up with demand after six years of bootstrapping - Co-founded by Jaclyn Rice Nelson, Tribe AI is a New York City-based AI talent and services company. It raised $3.25 million in Seed funding.
PairUp Raises $2.8M to Revolutionize Knowledge Sharing at Work - Co-founded and led by Emily Harburg, Ph.D., PairUp is a workplace knowledge-sharing platform. The Chicago, US-based startup raised $2.8 million in funding. HearstLab and Hillsven led the round, joined by Graham & Walker, Looking Glass Capital, Honeystone Ventures, MSIV, and Lofty Ventures.
SAIZ secures €2.5M for analytics-powered garment sizing - Co-founded by Marita Sanchez de la Cerda and Svenja Tegtmeier, SAIZ is a RetailTech solution that leverages data analytics to personalise clothes sizing. The Berlin-based startup raised €2.5 million in a Seed round co-led by EnjoyVenture and Salica Investments, joined by Houghton Street Ventures, and Gateway Ventures.
Hey Savi secures £2.2M for fashion search platform - Co-founded by Victoria Peppiatt, Angela Vinci, and Sarah Daniel, Hey Savi is an AI-powered fashion search and recommendation platform. The startup is the second ever fully-female-founded UK technology company to raise over £2 million at the Pre-Seed stage.
Briefly Bio raises $1.2M to tackle science's reproducibility challenge - Co-founded by Katya Putintseva, Briefly Bio develops an AI model that aims to make lab work more reproducible. The London, UK-based startup raised $1.2 million in a Pre-Seed round led by Compound VC and joined by NP Hard, Tiny VC, and angel investors.
Astor’s ‘community’ approach to financial advice aims to help women feel more confident about investing - Founded and led by Lindsay Dorf, Astor is a woman-focused financial wellness app. The US startup raised $1.4 million from Stellation Capital, TMV, NFX, and MBA Fund.
A VC told Keely Cat-Wells to get a male, non-disabled co-founder — she balked, nabbed a $2M pre-seed round - Founded by disability activist Keely Cat-Wells, Making Space is a talent acquisition platform that seeks to help companies from all sectors hire, train, and retain disabled talent. The US startup raised an oversubscribed $2 million Pre-Seed round led by Beta Boom.
“I saw an opportunity to build new pathways to employment that could provide equal benefit to both employers and disabled workers (…) We are passionate about getting disabled people into actual work, and creating careers rather than just jobs.” - Keely Cat-Wells (via TechCrunch)
Communia bets social media can be good for you - Founded and led by Olivia DeRamus, Communia is a social platform and a mental health tool.
VC: Led by Carli Sapir (ex-Female Founded Club), Amboy Street Ventures, an LA firm is raising up to $50 million for its second fund. (via Axios Pro)
Led by Anne Skates (ex-a16z Partner), Parable Partners, a new US-based VC firm is raising its debut fund. (via Axios Pro)
Female-founded startups have raised $15.5 billion so far this year, but that’s not really good news - While funding to women-founded companies (including mixed-gender teams) in the US has declined in the first half of 2024 compared to the first half of 2023 ($15.5 billion out of $93 billion — 17% — compared to the $24.8 billion out of $87.7 billion — 28% — in the first half of 2023), funding to companies with all-female founding teams slightly increased year-over-year ($1.1 billion in Q2 2024 compared to the $900,000 in Q2 2023).
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Until next Sunday,
Anamaria
Founder & Writer of FemWealth