#femtech

#femtech

Somewhere in the US a woman on her period pulled out her dripping, saturated tampon. But instead of wrapping it in toilet paper and tossing it into a bin, she put the tampon in a special plastic sample container, screwed the lid on tight and mailed it to an address in Oakland, California. The address was that of NextGen Jane (NGJ), a Bay Area-based startup founded in 2014.

In 2021, global femtech investment peaked at before plunging to just €1.1bn the next year, amid a tech funding apocalypse and capital making a headlong dash towards AI. Several factors contributed to this decline - broader market conditions, withering investor risk appetite, and natural sector maturation. But the surge in AI funding coinciding with a plunge in femtech investment highlights serious issues with capital allocation.

What does the volatile global political environment have to do with the menstruation of millions of people? With whom do menstrual cycle apps share our medical data? And how can this information be used to criminalize women who choose to have an abortion? More and more people are downloading menstrual tracking apps on their phones. Hence, these questions are becoming a major concern for researchers and academics.