A New Wave of Capital is Revolutionizing Women’s Health
- Zenaida Chapman
- Aug 29
- 4 min read
Historically overlooked by traditional research and funding, women’s health is finally gaining attention from innovators and investors alike.
Funding Momentum
For too long, women's health has been drastically underfunded, despite a McKinsey's 2024 report valuing this market at $1 trillion annually by 2040. In 2023, funding for women's health and fem-tech accounted for just 5% of all healthcare venture capital dollars, a figure that has remained largely stagnant for years. This persistent funding gap created a landscape of missed opportunities, with critical health issues for half the population remaining underserved.
But that's beginning to shift.
A new era of investment is emerging, as venture capitalists and private equity investors recognize both the immense financial opportunity and the profound societal impact of this burgeoning sector.
In 2025, sector-focused funds are gaining traction, with VC firms like Portfolia launching its $20 million Women’s Health Fund IV to target high-growth segments such as menopause ($20B+), fertility ($50B+), and female-focused longevity therapeutics ($20B+). At the same time, private equity has invested over $80 billion across more than 300 buyout deals in the past four years, primarily in fertility clinics, contraceptive-focused pharma, and IVF med-tech. Data from the World Economic Forum shows these deals have delivered a median return of ~2.0x on invested capital in 4–5 years, on par with the broader PE industry, making it clear that women’s health is not just a social priority; it's a proven investment thesis.
Med-Tech and Biopharma Advances
Fem-tech is reshaping how women access care, with more biotech and digital health companies pursuing pioneering technologies that address barriers to both diagnosis and treatment.
For example, endometriosis, a particularly under-explored condition, affects 1 in 10 women, yet takes 7–10 years on average to diagnose - a process that often requires invasive surgery. In a significant advancement, Hera Biotech has developed MetriDx, a novel, non-surgical diagnostic kit for endometriosis. The method uses a uterine brush biopsy in a simple office procedure, which streamlines diagnosis and eliminates the need for surgery.
Even mainstream health-tech enters the conversation, with OURA, the smart ring originally marketed as a general health and performance tracker, making the pivot towards women’s health. Rolling out this month, its new Pregnancy Insights feature offers trimester-specific symptom tagging, personalized insights, and postpartum support.
And this evolution toward women’s health in med-tech is mirrored in biopharma: data from a 2025 SVB report shows that investment in women’s health biopharma is rising and coming closer to the proportion seen across the healthcare industry as a whole.
Earlier this month, the Gates Foundation announced a $2.5 billion commitment through 2030 to accelerate research and development (R&D) focused exclusively on women’s health, signifying a shift in priorities toward innovating solutions to conditions long ignored by mainstream research.
Looking Ahead
And as M&A activity and sector-specific funds increase, the financial case for women’s health is becoming impossible for investors to overlook. Research from the World Economic Forum shows that every $1 invested in women’s health yields $3 in economic growth, and that closing the gender health gap could add an extra $1 trillion to the global economy each year by 2040.
Women’s health and fem-tech are no longer niche categories; they represent one of the most underfunded yet high-potential markets in biotech. With venture capital, private equity, global foundations, and innovation converging, this sector is an emerging landscape of opportunity for patients, biotechs, and the broader healthcare ecosystem.
Read more about the impact of federal research funding cuts on the future of medicine and learn about the most anticipated drug launches of 2025.
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