👶Tess Cosad's Béa Fertility Launches At-Home Fertility Treatment
FemWealth Issue #121
Hi FemWealth Friends!
In the Spotlight 👶
Co-founded and led by Tess Cosad, London-based Béa Fertility raised £2.5 million ($3.2M) to launch its at-home fertility treatment in the UK, and a pilot with the NHS.
The fertility tech startup provides a more cost-effective alternative to In vitro fertilisation (IVF) and Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) procedures with an at-home fertility kit for those trying to start a family. It also offers on-demand access to a fertility library, treatment app, and live support from the care team.
“Fertility impacts one in six couples, yet access to fertility care is severely lacking globally. Fertility clinics have been selling the same expensive treatments for decades, yet there are a number of groups which remain underserved, including the LGBTQIA+ community, single people and parents experiencing secondary infertility. At Béa, our aim is to fill this gap by creating inclusive, clinical-grade fertility treatments that can be used at home.” - Tess Cosad, Co-founder and CEO of Béa Fertility
Octopus Ventures led the company’s funding round, joined by JamJar, Forward Partners, and existing investors Calm/Storm, and Q Ventures.
Read more: Béa Fertility Raises $3.2 Million In Funding To Roll Out Its At-Home Fertility Treatment
FemWealth Favourites ❤️
Startups: South Korea’s Finda bags $37m Series C funding - Co-founded and led by Hyemin Lee, the South Korean startup operates a loan comparison platform. It raised a $37 million Series C round led by JB Financial Group, with contributions from 500 Global.
Topline Pro grabs $12M in new capital to help home service businesses get discovered - Shannon Kay is a co-founder and CPO of the US-based startup enabling service professionals to acquire direct business. Forerunner Ventures led the company’s Series A round with support from Bonfire Ventures, TMV, and BBG Ventures.
Commercial furniture and equipment procurement platform Source snags $8.5M - Founded and led by Nicole Schmidt, the US-based startup helps architectural and design firms procure interior design products for commercial real estate projects. M13 led the company’s $8.5 million Series A, with support from existing investors Rise of the Rest, Rogue Venture Partners, Founders’ Co-op, and Oregon Venture Fund.
Insurtech Startup Functional Finance Raises $8 Million to Further Expand Operational Efficiency for the Insurance Industry - The San Francisco startup, co-founded by Rashmi Melgiri, enables insurance companies to automate checkout, financing, payables, and refund functions. It raised an $8 million seed round (plus $2 million in SAFE notes) led by New Enterprise Associates, Walkabout Ventures, and Altai Ventures, a.o.
Language I/O Announces $8M Series A1 funding to boost GenAI capabilities for Translation Services - Founded and led by Heather Shoemaker, the US-based company provides real-time, “business-accurate” translation technology to allow companies to communicate internally and externally in any language. It secured an $8 million Series A1 round led by Joint Effects, with Wyoming Venture Capital Fund, Gutbrain Ventures, PBJ Capital, and Omega Venture Partners also participating.
Uptiv Health Launches Hybrid, Whole-Person Infusion Care Addressing Unmet Needs of Patients Living With Chronic Diseases, Secures $7.5M in Seed Funding - The New York-based company, co-founded by Marina Simonian, is developing personalized infusion care therapy for patients living with chronic diseases. It raised $7.5 million in a seed round from investors including Redesign Health.
Berlin-based mental health startup Likeminded secures €5.9 million to prevent burnout in corporate employees - Co-founded and co-led by Kimberly Breuer, Likeminded is a digital platform providing mental health support for employees. The Berlin-based startup raised €5.9 million in seed funding from investors including Holtzbrinck Digital and Heartcore Capital.
FeelBetter raises $5.9M for AI-enabled medication management platform - Co-founded and led by Liat Primor, FeelBetter is a Boston- and Tel Aviv-based medication management technology provider. The startup raised $5.9 million in funding. Firstime Ventures and Shoni Health Ventures co-led the round, joined by Random Forest VC, The Group Ventures, and Triventures.
Steg.AI puts deep learning on the job in a clever evolution of watermarking - Co-founded by Kristin Dana, Steg.AI enables creators to embed a nearly invisible watermark using deep learning, and thus prove ownership of digital assets. The company secured $5 million in a seed round led by Paladin Capital Group, with participation from Washington Square Angels, the NYU Innovation Venture Fund, and angel investors.
Cohart’s art marketplace makes buying and selling accessible for any kind of art lover - Founded by Kendall Warson and Shyevin S’ng, Cohart is a social marketplace to discover, buy, sell, and engage with art. The company raised over $4 million in funding from Courtside Ventures, Slauson & Co., BDMI, Alumni Ventures, Wilson Sonsini, Paris Hilton’s 11:11 Media, and a group of strategic angel investors, including Canva’s head of content Silvia Oviedo Lopez, The Council founder Margaret Coblentz, and Montage Ventures’ Connie Wang.
Emtech to advance its regtech and CBDC stack solutions with $4M led by Matrix Partners India - Founded and led by Carmelle Cadet, Emtech is an African provider of central banking infrastructure. The New York-based startup announced a $4 million seed round led by Matrix Partners India, with additional support from BTN, VestedWorld, Equity Alliance, LoftyInc Capital, Level Up Ventures, and Collide Capital.
Pelvital Raises $2.68M for Flyte, Its FDA-Cleared Treatment for Stress Urinary Incontinence and Weakened Pelvic Floor - Led by Lydia Zeller, President and CEO, Pelvital is selling an FDA-approved, at-home, intravaginal device for stress urinary incontinence and weakened pelvic floor muscles. It raised a $2.68 million seed round led by Boomerang Ventures.
Beyond Work raises $2.5M to build human-ai work platform - Co-founded by Kate Kharchenko (previously Customer Success at Stack Overflow), Beyond Work is developing an AI work platform to simplify enterprise tasks. The company raised $2.5 million in a Pre-seed funding led by Moonfire Ventures.
Tilebox raises $1.7M to enhance space data management - Co-founded by Laura Costa, Austria-based Tilebox helps companies to better manage and utilise their space data from on Earth or in-orbit satellites. The company raised a $1.7 million Pre-seed round, from Cocoa Ventures, Possible Ventures, Remote First Capital, and Space Angels.
Berlin proptech start-up dao raises €1.5M to put AI in the hands of property managers - Co-founded by Mavi Teicke, dao raised €1.5 million to streamline the rental process with AI.
Irish tech company Tailr raises €700,000 to help drive change in fashion industry - Founded by Shana Chu, Tailr offers cloud-based software to help streamline production, ensure consistent sizing and tackle excessive waste.
BluLever Education Raises Seed Funding - Co-founded by Jess Roussos, The Johannesburg-based startup provides apprenticeships (e.g. plumbing and electrical apprenticeships) and artisan business programs to South African youth. It raised a seed round of an undisclosed amount. Z Impact led the round, with additional investment from Autodesk Foundation, Elea Foundation, and Oppenheimer Generations.
5 lessons for academic founders swapping the lab bench for the boardroom - Joanne Kanaan, co-founder of Omini (focused on diagnostic testing) shares her insights into how academic founders can get company building right.
VC: Women-founded Adverb Ventures collects $75 m for inaugural fund - Co-founded by April Underwood (Slack, Twitter, Google) and Jessica Verrilli (Twitter, GV), the US-based firm will invest in early-stage companies, typically from pre-seed through Series A.
Founded and led by Katey Caldwell, TwentyTwo Ventures, an San Francisco-based VC firm is raising $25 million for its sixth fund.
Career moves in VC: Felicis, a Bay Area-based early-stage, global venture firm announced the promotions of Teresa Chan to CFO and co-COO, Dasha Maggio to co-COO, and Katie Riester to Managing Director and GP of Felicis’s fund-of-funds investing program. | Katherine Power, serial entrepreneur, CEO, and investor joined Greycroft as the firm’s newest partner, leading early-stage consumer product investments. | Emily Man, formerly vice president at Redpoint Ventures, joined Primary VC as the firm’s first fintech-focused partner.
Women’s Health: It’s Time For A Billion-Dollar Women’s Health Fund
“Every woman’s health fund on the planet is still a micro fund. I think it’s time we see a billion dollar women's health fund.” - Jessica Federer, Managing Partner at Supernode Ventures; previously first chief digital officer for Bayer AG, and the first woman to hold that role across the biopharma industry
For the First Time, There’s a Pill for Postpartum Depression (NYT $) - The US Federal Drug Agency (FDA) approved the first pill for postpartum depression.
Sports: Women Athletes Are the Sports World’s Growth Stocks (Bloomberg $)
“Though women athletes haven’t yet reached the moneyed heights of men (…) the growth potential is greater for them than it is for their male counterparts.”
Beauty & Fashion: Rent the Runway CEO started her company as a Harvard graduate student—now it’s worth $120 million - Features Jennifer Hyman, co-founder and CEO of Rent the Runway.
How Mother of Pearl shifted to a more sustainable business model - Features Amy Powney, creative director and co-owner of UK-based fashion brand Mother of Pearl
“Instead of getting our supply chain partners to create what I wanted, I worked with them to understand what they could create in the most sustainable and ethical way, and figured out the product specifications after.” - Amy Powney, Creative Director at Mother of Pearl
How to make beauty more equitable - BeautyUnited, a US-based non-profit organisation aimed at creating a more equitable beauty industry, plans to add grants to its mentorship initiatives.
What I’m Reflecting On 💭
Modern Gender Equality Must Include Men -
“When we make the invisible visible, it becomes clear that gender parity isn’t just a “women’s issue.” It’s a human one. Not only do men care, but they want to be part of the solution.” - Shelley Zalis, Founder and CEO of The Female Quotient
AI will take more jobs from women than men by 2030, report says - A new report by the McKinsey Global Institute shows that women’s jobs in the service industries are significantly impacted by automation.
European VCs see exodus of women investors
“(…) many women in VC are frustrated by the lack of funding going to diverse entrepreneurs. Often women in VC are implicitly tasked with finding female founders to back but still have to jump through numerous hurdles to secure investment for them, if they are given any opportunity at all.” - Dama Sathianathan, Partner at Bethnal Green Ventures
Also read MPs challenge VC firms over record on female and minority-led firms [UK-focus]
Thank you for reading FemWealth! 🥰
Until next Sunday,
Anamaria
Founder & Writer of FemWealth