The founder of $1.7 billion startup Maven says women’s health is still undervalued
Good morning, Broadsheet readers! FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell warns of the dangers of hurricane disinformation, Enterprise Mobility CEO Chrissy Taylor is transforming her business, and Maven is valued at $1.7 billion.
– Early innings. “The market’s down on digital health right now,” says Kate Ryder, the founder and CEO of Maven, the women’s and family health platform. You wouldn’t know that to look at her company, which yesterday announced a $125 million Series F round led by StepStone Group that values the business at $1.7 billion.
Maven first became a unicorn in 2021—the first in the women’s health category—and last raised $90 million in late 2022, with more than $425 million raised in total over the past decade. Returning investors in this fundraise included Lux Capital, General Catalyst, and Sequoia. Investor interest in the startup, Ryder says, ties back to a theme: While digital health may be seen as saturated, women’s and family health has more room to grow.
“Women’s and family health is such a unique category because there’s been so little built,” she says. “No one was doing anything in menopause before, no one was doing anything in postpartum care, no one was doing anything in miscarriage or surrogacy or even elements of fertility and pre-conception care.”
Maven offers care through its virtual clinic, mainly through selling to employers and health plans. Its more than 2,000 customers include Amazon, AT&T, and Microsoft.
With this capital, Ryder plans to invest in Maven’s fertility benefits administration platform.
A decade since its founding, Maven’s IPO is eagerly anticipated—especially by others in the digital and women’s health spaces who are eager for an example to point to beyond current comparisons in the public markets.
“Going public doesn’t look fun right now,” Ryder says. “An IPO is something we anticipate in the future, but we’re not filing anytime soon. We’re really excited to stay private a little bit longer and take risk in building all these products.”
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
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ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
– More than meets the eye. Enterprise Mobility CEO Chrissy Taylor is looking to transform her family’s company beyond just rental car services. “We did a big study, [and found that] only 11% of the population and of consumers knows we do more than rentals,” Taylor said at Fortune’s COO Summit yesterday. “So there is a huge opportunity, especially in the business-to-business space.” Fortune
– Miscarriage management. Abortion pill developer Danco Laboratories is preparing to seek approval from the FDA allowing the usage of Mifeprex to manage miscarriages. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court rejected efforts to restrict access to mifepristone, the generic version of Mifeprex. Wall Street Journal
– Storm of disinformation. FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell said that the disinformation related to hurricanes Milton and Helene is dangerous, creating fear in her staff and dissuading people from applying for necessary aid. “I anticipated some of this, but not to the extent that we’re seeing this,” she said. Axios
– Fertility funding. Actor Emma Watson invested in Hertility, a women’s reproductive health company based in the U.K. that provides personalized services and testing. The women-founded, women-focused company, which has now raised more than $14 million in total funding, fits in with Watson’s continued support for women-led initiatives. TechCrunch
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Marie Leblanc, CEO of Victoria Beckham, is stepping down from her role after five years.
Glamour named Samantha Barry global editorial director. She is currently editor-in-chief of Glamour US.
Droplette, a skincare technology company, named Jodi Kaplan CEO. Most recently, she was president at Dr. Barbara Sturm Molecular Cosmetics.
Unilever, a health, well-being, and beauty company, named Mary Carmen Gasco-Buisson chief executive officer of its prestige division. Most recently, she was chief marketing officer and executive vice president of Pandora’s global business units.
Bibi Steinhaus-Webb is stepping down from her role as select group women’s professional game director at Professional Game Match Officials Limited; Rebecca Welch will fill the role. Steinhaus-Webb is joining Fifa as head of women’s refereeing.
LOGISTEC, a marine and environmental services provider, appointed Cleidy Liborio Fernandes as chief commercial officer. She was most recently chief commercial and operating officer for CMA CGM.
Command Medical Products, a contract manufacturing services provider for medical devices, added Karen West to its board of directors. Previously, she was CEO at Solesis.
ON MY RADAR
Rep. Jasmine Crockett has already won over Dallas. Now, she’s going national Vogue
Martha Sazon leads the Philippines-based finance superapp GCash with a majority-female 94 million user base Fortune
More Black and Latina women are leading unions—and transforming how they work AP
PARTING WORDS
“We don’t get to fail upwards like a lot of white men.”
— Actor Jodie Turner-Smith on being a person of color in the entertainment industry
