The industry is working hard to close this gap. Technologies designed to support women’s health have been referred to as femtech (short for female technology) since the phrase was coined by Ida Tin, Co-founder and CEO of AI driven menstrual tracking app, Clue in 2016.

Despite making up half of the population, historically, there has been little attention paid to the physiological differences between men and women. However, with the rise of femtech, women are no longer just ‘making do’.

Thanks to femtech encouraging investors and innovators to prioritise female health, the global femtech market is expected to be worth $60bn by 2027.

Startups Magazine celebrates key players in the femtech industry, shining light on its importance.

Frendo

Affecting 1 in 10 women, endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows in other places, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes. Frendo is there to provide everyday support to those suffering with the debilitating condition. Acting as ‘a friend in your hand’, Frendo combines advice, insight and information in one place. It gives users control over their medical records with a place to store blood test and scan results, medications and clinicians’ notes. An added benefit is the community within the app, made up of people at different stages of their endometriosis journeys.

Elitone

Elitone is on a mission to help women improve their health in a life-changing way. Elitone provides a discreet treatment for incontinence, slipping into a user’s pocket or waistline. It works using gentle, low-frequency pulses to tone pelvic floor muscles, providing therapeutic stimulation and performing pelvic floor exercises for the user.  

WOOM

WOOM combines machine learning techniques with personal experience creating apps that allow women to better understand how their bodies work. WOOM covers every stage of women’s reproductive health, accompanying users with personalised period and fertility calendars and tools supported by medical professionals. The apps ensure that emotional wellbeing remains a priority to the user.

Ava

Ava is an FDA approved fertility tracking wearable device to be worn during sleep. The Ava bracelet tracks five physiological signals using machine learning algorithms to extract the five most fertile days of the menstrual cycle. Ava aims to be a digital diagnostics and therapeutics company providing insights for all stages of a woman’s reproductive life.

LatchAid

Many women experiences challenges throughout their breastfeeding journey. Powered by innovation and empathy, LatchAid is a breastfeeding and early parenthood support app. It utilises 3D interactive and artificial intelligence technology to assist mothers and future mothers with vital breastfeeding skills. The app shows different breastfeeding positions, allowing users to use touch-screen to control camera angles. The app also allows users to connect with others and share valuable support.

Evidently, femtech is more than a mere buzzword to categorise health technology specific to women. It is the next step for improving women’s healthcare, with hopes to eliminate gender disparity in healthcare altogether. These five featured startups are a small selection of the incredible innovation set to revolutionise the industry. In the words of Kirsty Chong, femtech is a ‘powerhouse’ tackling more than women’s health issues. It is helping to solve the major environmental sustainability crises of today.