Women's health tech, which leverages innovations in AI, smartphones and connected wearables to give women deeper insights into their reproductive and menstrual health, continues to gain traction among users — and investors are following suit.
Flow Health, a London-based fertility-focused menstrual-cycle-tracking app, announced Tuesday that it had raised $200 million in Series C funding from General Atlantic. The funding gives the startup a post-funding valuation of more than $1 billion, making it the first “purely digital” women's health app to become a unicorn, according to the company. It's a tricky distinction, since there aren't any obvious “purely digital” unicorns in the women's health space to compare it to. (Maven, which describes itself as a health clinic and benefits platform, was last valued at $1.33 billion in 2022.)
The funding comes after impressive growth and is notable given the challenges Flow has faced, including a now-resolved regulatory investigation into privacy-related issues by the Federal Trade Commission and a general bearish market in the tech market. The company claims to have served approximately 380 million users worldwide to date, with 70 million monthly active users of its free product and 5 million paying users for its premium version.
The funding will be used to attract more users, as well as to appeal to older users by focusing on menopause and pre-menopause. The startup may also look at acquisitions to grow inorganically, with further backing from General Atlantic.
“We are excited about their big vision and upcoming innovations for the entire women's health and wellness ecosystem,” Jesse Cai, a principal at General Atlantic, said in a statement. “We believe Flow is a leader in its space and look forward to supporting the company's continued growth by leveraging our deep expertise in disruptive consumer technology and subscription platforms.” Both Cai and Tangene Said, M.D., head of General Atlantic's consumer internet and technology division, will join Flow's board of directors.
Investors have poured about $5 billion into women's health startups over the past three years, representing a roughly 60% increase over the three years prior, according to Pitchbook data cited by the Financial Times. Part of that increase is due to rapid advances in technology, including the use of AI to provide more insights to users, but it's also likely a sign of the times, as digital health is often just one part of medical care.
Flow's last round, a $50 million Series B in 2021, was part of that investment stream, and this latest $200 million was raised following “significant external interest,” the CEO told me, signaling further acceleration for the biggest companies.
Flo has quite an interesting origin story: After years of experience developing other fitness and wellness apps, CEO Dmitry Gurski co-founded the company with his twin brother, part of a huge exodus of tech talent from Belarus in the wake of geopolitical turmoil.
Below is our interview with Gursky about fundraising, Flo, and more. The interview has been edited for clarity and length. The interview was conducted over email.
many [women’s health] Even startups like Elvie are building hardware as part of their products. Any plans in that space? If not, what's next for Flo?
We have no plans to embed any hardware into our products. Our priority is to continue integrating with devices like the Apple Watch to provide a personalized experience for users across different age groups, demographics, and personal health goals. This includes providing accurate cycle and symptom predictions, improving personalized health information, and enhancing localization in international regions.
You founded Flo in 2015 but had never built a healthcare app before. What first got you interested in this field?
Before Flo, my brother and I were involved in developing health and fitness apps for fitness, yoga, running, etc. I also have a degree in Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Design.
However, I saw first-hand the challenges women faced with healthcare and realized there was a gap in the women's health market that was seriously underserved. When we founded Flo, the market was flooded with simple apps that offered superficial information and tools, but lacked innovation focused on education and personalized insights. So we set out to create Flo. We envisioned a platform that could provide women with accurate, personalized insights throughout their reproductive journey.
We listened to countless women around the world and gathered insight into their expectations. We brought on Dr. Anna Klepczukova as our Chief Medical Officer and she established Flo's Medical and Scientific Advisory Board, which now includes over 120 leading experts in women's health.
What do you think is Flo’s groundbreaking or unique selling point?
We're proud that Flo is currently used by 1 in 4 women in the U.S. Compared to other period tracking apps, Flo offers the broadest range of features across multiple modes (tracking, pregnancy hope, pregnancy, etc.).
Flo sets itself apart with features such as “Incognito Mode” to enhance privacy and “Symptom Checker” to provide personalized health information. Specifically, our platform offers curated cycle and ovulation tracking, allowing users to monitor over 70 symptoms and access a range of features to better understand and manage their health. In 2023, Flo launched “Flo for Partners,” which allows users to educate and support their partners on the science behind menstrual and reproductive health.
You were investigated by the FTC a few years ago, but it has now been resolved. How did that investigation affect your business? What have you done to change your work practices at Flo?
In fact, the company reached a settlement with the FTC in 2021. It is important to note that this agreement was not an admission of wrongdoing, but rather a decision as a growing company to avoid the time and expense of litigation and resolve this matter definitively. Flo does not sell any data at any time.
We have a comprehensive privacy and security framework with strong policies and procedures to protect our users' data, which are regularly reviewed both internally and by independent auditors.
We are proud to be the only dual-certified women's health app, with both ISO 27001 Security and ISO 27701 Privacy certifications.
What did you learn from your experience at the FTC?
Our number one priority has been, and will continue to be, protecting our users' data. We understand that our users trust our technology to keep sensitive information private, and we have a responsibility to provide a platform that is safe for them to use. That's why we have implemented measures designed to protect individual user data and privacy rights. We are transparent about how we handle data and strictly comply with applicable regulations.
Currently you offer both free and premium products. How do you plan to expand in the long term? How do you transition users from free to paid?
Subscription offerings will remain our core business model and we have no plans to change this.
In the next phase of growth, we will focus on expanding our user base by developing features for pre- and menopausal women and partners of existing users through our “Flo for Partners” feature, expanding our reach to an untapped user base.
Do you monetize your paid user base in any way? If so, how? Do you have plans to do so?
Our monetization strategy is through premium subscriptions that offer users additional features and insights, and we are continually innovating to increase the value of our premium services without compromising the core functionality of the free version.
Will the free tier continue indefinitely?
Our business model has proven extremely successful and we have no plans to change it.
Can you talk a bit about where your current users are located and what their average age is? (I'm guessing the US is your largest market, but I'd be interested to know the actual percentages.)
Flo maintains a strong and growing presence in North America and Western Europe. While the average age of our users is between 18-35, it is important to us to cater to users at all stages of reproductive age. Therefore, as part of our next growth phase, one of our main focuses is to expand our reach to untapped user segments.
What are the key differences between doing business in the US and Europe or other parts of the world? Do healthcare systems in certain markets play a role (for example, the UK has the NHS)?
The main difference is the propensity to pay for a premium subscription. We see different conversions. [rates] It will be premium in different countries.
“We also recognize that there are significant gaps in women's health services in some regions, and that women may find it difficult to pay for a premium subscription, so this was an issue that was important to us. Our global philanthropy program provides free access to Flo Premium in 66 countries, including India, Indonesia and Nigeria, and has already benefited nearly 16 million women.”
You are originally from Belarus, how has the situation there influenced your path as an investor and entrepreneur?
I have been living and working in London, where our headquarters is located, for some time now. Regarding recent events, we have been fortunate that our operations have not been directly affected. We have always maintained a global perspective and Russia has never been a significant part of our market.
It seems like most of your team is in Lithuania. Will you continue to do the bulk of your development there (assuming R&D staff)?
Flo Health is headquartered in London, with a major presence in Vilnius, Lithuania, and the company plans to invest in top-tier engineering-focused talent in both locations.
Through your investment firm Palta, you have been involved in a number of acquisitions of portfolio companies, including MSQRD, which was acquired by Facebook. What have you learned from this experience about building Flo?
The most important thing I learned was the importance of creating the best possible product for a large market at the right time. This insight has been the foundation of our company's success and growth. My experience at other companies gave me valuable insight into how to grow a business effectively. From the beginning, we understood the importance of timing and the need to address a large market with a quality product.
To be clear, I have not been involved or involved with Palta since 2018, when Flo experienced significant growth. In fact, the Palta investment firm was formed after the formation of Flo Health. I sit on the board and occasionally advise, but am otherwise 100% dedicated to Flo.