The tech industry has largely catered to a one-size-fits-all approach for years, one that often overlooked the unique health needs of women. Now, a wave of female innovators is flipping the script, creating technology that not only prioritizes women’s health but challenges the industry to think differently.
From smart wearables tracking hormonal cycles to apps revolutionizing menstrual health and fertility care, women-led startups are turning personal experiences into products and forcing the tech world to finally pay attention.
Tech that understands women’s bodies
Mainstream wearables like Fitbit and Apple Watch measured steps and sleep but ignored how women’s bodies operate on a 28-day cycle, not a 24-hour one.
That’s starting to change.
The Ava Bracelet, co-founded by Lea von Bidder, uses skin temperature, heart rate variability, and breathing rate to predict fertility windows, offering a more nuanced approach to cycle tracking.
Now, Oura Ring has joined the movement. Its Cycle Insights feature, launched in 2023, tracks nightly body temperature to predict periods and offer insights on fertility without users needing to log a single symptom.
Women’s bodies aren’t just smaller versions of men’s, and women deserve technology that’s designed with their biology in mind.
Breaking the menstrual health taboo
Early menstrual tracking apps often reduced periods to pink-themed calendars but a new generation of apps is reframing periods as a vital health metric.
Clue, founded by Ida Tin, paved the way by treating menstrual cycles as a whole-body health indicator, not just a fertility tool. Today, Clue serves over 13 million users globally and integrates mood tracking, pain logging, and contraceptive reminders.
A rising star in 2024 is Hormona, a London-based app founded by Jasmine Tagesson. Hormona combines period tracking with at-home hormone testing kits, giving women unprecedented insights into their hormonal health without needing a doctor’s appointment.
Hormones impact everything from mental health to energy levels. Yet most women only get information about them when they’re trying to conceive, and they’re changing that.
Fertility beyond pregnancy
Fertility tech has long been framed around pregnancy but a new wave of startups is addressing fertility as part of lifelong health, not just family planning.
Elanza Wellness, co-founded by Brittany Hawkins and Catherine Hendy, helps women navigate egg freezing, hormone health, and fertility preservation with personalized coaching.
Meanwhile, companies like Celmatix are using genetic testing to predict reproductive health issues like PCOS and endometriosis long before women even start thinking about kids.
They want to empower women to understand their fertility in their 20s not just when they’re trying to conceive.
Smarter solutions for everyday health
Female founders are innovating products for the everyday realities of women’s lives.
The Elvie Pump, founded by Tania Boler, is the world’s first silent, wearable breast pump, giving new moms the freedom to pump on the go.
Similarly, Willow Pump offers a discreet, app-connected breast pump that tucks into a bra, no cords or bottles required. Both brands are part of the growing FemTech movement, which is projected to hit USD103 billion by 2030, according to Frost & Sullivan.
A market on the rise
Despite rising demand, women’s health tech still receives just 3 percent of total digital health funding, a stark gap considering women make up over half the population.
But that’s slowly shifting. In 2023, FemTech startups raised $1.1 billion in venture capital the highest amount ever recorded, according to FemTech Insider.
Women’s health has been systemically underfunded and underserved. The best innovations are coming from women solving problems they’ve experienced firsthand.
The next frontier in women’s health tech could be real-time hormone tracking wearables, offering a window into how menstrual cycles affect energy, mood, and performance. Startups like Hormona and Inne are already developing saliva-based hormone trackers that sync with mobile apps.
There’s a huge opportunity to build tech that helps women optimize their lives around their cycles, not fight against them.
