Women’s Health Initiative
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 through a regenerative funding model, using equity investments to support exceptional teams developing technologies that can transform care, expand access, and scale impact. Through targeted investments, innovation prizes, and strategic support, CIF backs solutions with the potential to improve outcomes for women, mothers, and families.
Women’s Health by the Numbers
Women’s health remains under-researched and underserved across conditions and stages of life.
4 in 5
people diagnosed with an autoimmune disease are female.¹
In a Mayo Clinic study, more than
1/3 of midlife women
reported moderate, severe, or very severe menopause symptoms.²
1 in 8
mothers in the US experience symptoms of postpartum depression.³
Women were found to face a
20% increased risk
of developing heart failure or dying within five years after their first severe heart attack compared with men.⁵
Women’s health is not a niche market—but it is still treated like one.
The gaps above show how often women’s health needs are overlooked: in research, diagnosis, treatment, and investment. Women make up more than half the population, yet women’s health companies receive only about 2% of U.S. healthcare venture capital funding.⁷ CIF responds by backing high-potential companies developing solutions across women’s and maternal health.
What CIF Donor Support Helps Build
CIF directs early capital toward founders and companies building in overlooked areas of women’s and maternal health.
51%
Women-led active portfolio
14
Women’s health companies
8
Maternal health companies
$1.85M
in impact investment funding for women’s health companies
CIF Equity Funding in Action
Through its regenerative funding model, CIF uses equity investments to support women’s and maternal health companies working to improve care, access, and quality of life. When investments generate returns, CIF can reinvest those proceeds into future health innovations. Our innovation prizes help identify and spotlight promising founders, offering catalytic equity support and visibility to move transformative solutions closer to patients.
2026
DeepEcho
2026 Women’s Health Innovation Prize Winner
$100k CIF prize
Expanding access to prenatal answers
DeepEcho is developing AI-enabled fetal ultrasound software that uses deep learning to support automated fetal measurements, teleguidance, remote diagnosis, and faster prenatal screening.
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Prenatal ultrasound can shape the course of pregnancy care, but not every mother has timely access to high-quality imaging or specialist interpretation. DeepEcho’s technology is designed to help clinicians identify risks earlier, including birth defects, preterm birth risk, low birth weight, and other pregnancy complications, so mothers and babies can be connected to care sooner.
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CIF’s impact model estimates DeepEcho could potentially impact 100,800 maternal and newborn patients annually, including 100,700 patients with improved quality of life and 100 potential lives saved.
It is a validation of our approach and the work that we have done. The CIF team, who have seen thousands of startups, have seen our pitch, talked to me, asked me questions, and came away convinced that we were doing something meaningful. That is extremely valuable, and it is also going to drive other investors to join the round.
- Saad Slimani, Co-Founder of DeepEcho
Feminai
2026 Women’s Health Innovation Prize Runner-Up
$50k CIF prize
Making breast health easier to check from home
Feminai is developing an at-home self-breast examination patch designed to make breast health screening more accessible, intuitive, and affordable—helping women check their breast health privately and comfortably from home.
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Breast cancer remains one of the most significant women’s health challenges: it is the most common cancer among women globally, and the WHO estimates it caused 670,000 deaths worldwide in 2022.⁸ In the U.S., the American Cancer Society estimates 321,910 new invasive breast cancer cases among women in 2026.⁹
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CIF’s impact model estimates Feminai could potentially impact 200,010 patients annually, including 200,000 patients with improved quality of life and 10 potential lives saved.
This funding is another great signal that women are ready for innovation in their breast health solutions. Receiving validation from large crowds, mainly made up of women, shows us that our future users are anticipating our arrival to the market.
- Dr. Karny Ilan, Founder of Feminai
2025
LunaJoy Health
2025 Women’s Health Innovation Prize Winner
$100k CIF prize
Mental health care for mothers
LunaJoy Health expands access to maternal mental health care, including support for postpartum depression and perinatal mental health needs.
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Pregnancy and postpartum recovery can be physically and emotionally overwhelming, yet too many mothers struggle without timely, specialized support. Untreated maternal mental health needs can affect a mother’s safety, an infant’s wellbeing, and the stability of the whole family.
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CIF’s impact model estimates LunaJoy Health could potentially impact 600,210 mothers annually, including 600,000 patients with improved quality of life and 210 potential lives saved.
When women get specialized treatment from providers trained specifically in reproductive psychiatry, we see an 80-percent decrease in post-hospitalization and a 27-percent improvement in medication adherence, and women get better faster because they engage in their treatment.
- Dr. Sipra Laddha, Co-Founder of LunaJoy Health
Limax Biosciences
2025 Women’s Health Innovation Prize Runner-Up
$50k CIF prize + $50k CIF follow-on investment
Helping mothers survive severe bleeding
Limax Biosciences is developing biodegradable tough gel adhesives designed to seal and protect tissue even in wet, blood-filled environments.
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Postpartum hemorrhage is one of the most dangerous complications of childbirth. Limax’s technology is designed for the realities of the body—where tissue is wet, bleeding is active, and traditional closure methods may not be enough.
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CIF’s impact model estimates Limax Biosciences could potentially impact 200,080 patients annually, including 200,000 patients with improved quality of life and 80 potential lives saved.
Our mission is to transform standard of care, offering healthcare professionals and patients the tools needed to address tissue repair inside and outside the body. The power of Limax's biodegradable tough gel adhesives extends from minor superficial skin wounds to complicated post-surgery hemorrhages and traumas.
- Dr. Benjamin Freedman, Co-Founder of Limax Biosciences
Flourish Care
2025 Women’s Health Innovation Prize Finalist
$100k CIF follow-on investment
More support before, during, and after birth
Flourish Care expands access to doulas, maternity support, and maternal care coordination.
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Pregnancy and birth can be overwhelming to navigate, especially for mothers who face barriers to trusted, continuous support. Flourish Care has already helped more than 10,000 women access support through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care, helping mothers feel heard, prepared, and less alone during one of the most important health moments of their lives.
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CIF’s impact model estimates Flourish Care could potentially impact 1.4 million mothers annually through improved maternity support and care access.
When it comes to the birth of your baby, having the right support can make all the difference…Our mission is to improve the health and well-being of mothers, babies, and families by extending maternity care beyond the clinic and beyond the hospital and into the community.
- Melissa Bowley, Founder & CEO of Flourish Care
Other Portfolio Companies
Beyond CIF’s Innovation Prize recipients, our women’s health portfolio includes companies advancing solutions across diagnostics, care delivery, prevention, fertility, and treatment.
AOA Dx
Advancing earlier detection for ovarian cancer
Bloomer Tech
Turning everyday bras into heart health monitors
Cleerly
Detecting heart disease before a heart attack
Concarlo Therapeutics
Developing solutions for drug-resistant cancer
Dionysus Healthcare
Predicting postpartum depression risk before birth
Egal
Making period products as accessible as toilet paper
NUA Surgical
Making C-sections safer for mothers and babies
OCON Therapeutics
Delivering treatment through the uterus
PyrAmes
Tracking blood pressure for mothers and infants
Raydiant Oximetry
Improving fetal monitoring during childbirth
Media
CIF-supported women’s health innovation is gaining visibility across the broader healthcare and investment ecosystem.
In the News
The Key Takeaways From Cure’s Power of X: Women’s Health Innovation Summit 2026
Cure’s 2026 Power of X Summit brought together investors, clinicians, researchers, and entrepreneurs to spotlight women’s health as a rapidly growing, investable market. The recap highlights key themes from the summit, including the need for more capital, stronger care models, sex-specific research, and scalable innovation to close persistent gaps in women’s healthcare.
DeepEcho Wins Second Annual CIF Prize in Women's Health
Cure’s article spotlights DeepEcho, winner of the 2026 CIF Prize in Women’s Health, which received $100,000 in equity investment from the Catalytic Impact Foundation. The recap highlights DeepEcho’s AI-powered fetal ultrasound platform, designed to expand access to detailed maternal-fetal scans, as well as the broader group of finalists advancing innovation across breast cancer screening, postpartum hemorrhage, urinary incontinence, and osteoporosis.
Power of X Summit Makes Investment Case for Women’s Health
Cure’s article recaps the 2025 Power of X Summit, where more than 200 investors, founders, scientists, and healthcare leaders gathered to make the case for women’s health as both an urgent equity issue and a major market opportunity. The piece highlights key themes from the summit, including the need for greater investment, stronger sex-specific research, improved clinical trial representation, and cross-sector collaboration to accelerate scalable women’s health solutions.
LunaJoy Wins Impact Challenge at Cure’s Power of X Summit
Cure’s article spotlights LunaJoy, winner of the 2025 Impact Challenge at the Power of X Summit, which received $100,000 in equity investment from CIF and $10,000 in legal services from Orrick. The recap highlights LunaJoy’s women-focused mental health care model, along with the broader group of finalists advancing solutions across postpartum hemorrhage, breast cancer screening, doula care, breast reconstruction, and endometriosis.
Support this Work
Help CIF accelerate innovation in women’s health. Your support fuels catalytic prizes, follow-on investments, and early-stage companies working to improve care, access, and outcomes for women.
Sources
1. National Institutes of Health, “Understanding sex differences in autoimmune disease,” 2024.
2. Mayo Clinic, “Addressing Menopause Symptoms: Barriers and Opportunities for Improvement,”2025.
3. CDC, “Vital Signs: Postpartum Depressive Symptoms and Provider Discussions About Perinatal Depression – United States, 2018,” 2020.
4. Alzheimer’s Association, “Women and Alzheimer’s,” 2026.
5. American Heart Association, “Women found to be at higher risk for heart failure and heart attack death than men,” 2020.
6. Period, “Period Poverty,” 2026.
7. Deloitte, “Can investors help women’s health break through the glass ceiling?” 2024.
8. World Health Organization, “Breast Cancer,” 2026.
9. American Cancer Society, “Cancer Facts & Figures 2026,” 2026.