Women’s Health Initiative

Accelerating breakthrough solutions in women’s and maternal health

The Innovation Gap

Women face conditions that affect them exclusively, differently, or disproportionately—yet the research, funding, and innovation needed to improve outcomes still lag far behind. CIF helps close that gap by backing exceptional teams developing technologies that can transform care, improve access, and scale impact.

Women’s Health by the Numbers

Women’s health remains under-researched and underserved across conditions and stages of life.

1/3

of older women report moderate-to-severe difficulties functioning at work due to menopause symptoms

Women are

2x

more likely to be diagnosed with depression and anxiety

1/3

women are 2x more likely to develop alzheimers disease

1/3

women are 2x more likely to be diagnosed with non-smoking-related lung cancer

1/3

women are 50% more likely to die in the year following a heart attack

1/3

women are 2x more likely to develop an autoimmune diesease

Women’s and Maternal Health in Action

AOA Diagnostics

AOA Diagnostics is developing AKRIVIS GD, a non-invasive liquid biopsy blood test designed to support earlier detection of ovarian cancer by analyzing tumor-associated lipids and proteins.
Why it matters: Ovarian cancer is often diagnosed after it has already advanced, when treatment is more difficult and survival rates are lower.
Potential impact: Earlier detection could help more women receive care when the disease is more treatable, while reducing the burden and cost of late-stage treatment.

aoa
The Echo Project

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more.

Make It
The Brightline Project

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more.

Make It
The Northgrid Project

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more.

Make It