What Is Femtech and Where Is It Going?

At the intersection of technology and women’s healthcare lies an emerging, influential field known as femtech. With a focus on creating digital solutions designed specifically to address the unique healthcare needs of women and those with a uterus regardless of gender identity, femtech is rapidly reshaping the landscape of women’s health.  

As the female health sector constitutes a broad array of conditions and concerns — from reproductive health to mental well-being — femtech has begun to play a crucial role in offering innovative, digitally enabled products and services that empower women to take control of their health. This edition of L.E.K. Consulting’s Executive Insights delves into the femtech market, exploring its key segments, the driving forces of innovation, the current landscape of market players, the market size and growth, and the prominent themes and challenges shaping this vibrant industry in 2023.

Women’s health: The backbone of femtech 

Some health conditions are unique to women, such as menstrual care, menopausal care and pelvic health. Others, like maternal health and family building, often involve a partner or child. Additionally, certain conditions disproportionately affect women, despite occurring in both genders. These include autoimmune disease and severe obesity. Women may also experience different indicators for conditions like cardiac disease and STIs compared to men. Moreover, women’s mental health presents distinct challenges (see Figure 1). Women have higher rates of specific mental health disorders and a greater likelihood of suicide attempts compared to men. 

The femtech market 

What is femtech? Femtech, or digitally enabled, innovative solutions for women’s health, spans across all segments because digital enablement is increasingly being utilized in treatment, support and new product development. The health offerings that fall into the femtech market definition can be divided into three key groups based on solution type (see Figure 2).

1. Clinical services and care connectors:  

• Telehealth, telemedicine prescription filling, services or in-person care, often utilizing hybrid in-person telehealth care models 

• Access to personalized and curated care resources through aggregation of benefits, often utilizing a care-guide model 

2. Care enablement and engagement: 

• Digital communities connecting patients and consumers with similar needs 

• App-based educational resources and digital therapeutics such as behavioral modification programs and digital educational content 

3. Clinical and consumer products: 

• Clinical products and therapeutics that improve patient outcomes in acute and nonacute settings 

• Consumer packaged goods products, diagnostics and supplements serving women across their care journey 

Women’s healthcare is undergoing a period of intense innovation across these segments, driven by femtech companies that are recognizing and meeting customer needs and pain points. The femtech and women’s health technology landscape has hundreds of players, increasingly blurring the lines between offering types (see Figure 3). 

Femtech in 2023: A landscape of evolution and innovation 

In 2023, the femtech industry is witnessing significant transformation. With the evolving regulatory landscape, shifts in investor priorities, innovative data strategies and incorporation of digital health technologies, the femtech sector is on a path of accelerated growth. Figure 4 (parts 1 and 2) below is a snapshot of the key drivers, trends and examples steering this evolution.

Regulatory changes driving innovation 

• Fragmented affirmatory care landscape: Digital healthcare platforms are increasingly supplementing clinical care — for example, bridging the gap in affirmative care. Offerings like Folx Health and Plume are pioneering this space, offering care and prescriptions for hormone replacement therapy and sexual health. 

• Telehealth emergence post-Roe: Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, demand has surged for digital access to contraceptives. Providers including Stix and Hey Jane are providing emergency contraception services via telehealth as part of this new wave of demand.  

• Legislation and reimbursement: Companies like Brave Health and Twentyeight are leading the way in targeting the legislative gaps in the support of holistic care, aiming to expand access and usage substantially. 

Evolving investor priorities 

• Acquisition appetite: Major medtech players, such as Merck and GE, are actively acquiring women’s health-focused startups, e.g., Alydia Health. 

• From B2C to clinical value: Startups that were initially launched as business-to-consumer, such as Nabla, are adapting their models to offer value in clinical settings, using tools like AI-driven insights. Many innovative, noninvasive diagnostics are taking similar approaches.

The critical role of data strategy 

• Leveraging long-term data: Startups possessing extensive data repositories, like Ava and Flo, are in a strong position, as this data can be wielded to fuel growth and innovation. 

• Investor expectations: Investors are stressing the need for data-backed strategies to justify investments. 

• Privacy imperative: Amid growing consumer privacy concerns, femtech companies are prioritizing the clarification of their data strategies and bolstering privacy safeguards. 

Meeting evolving consumer and patient needs 

• Sustainability and comfort: Companies like Fluus, Saalt and Flex offer sustainable period products and redesign traditional products for greater comfort and safety. New attention has been focused on this category as so-called forever chemicals have been found in menstrual products sold in the U.S.  

• Addressing underrepresented and stigmatized conditions: New products and therapies are targeting issues such as maternal mortality and pelvic pain, aiming for broader, more inclusive care. 

Digital health technology: A frontier of possibilities 

• Innovating care with AI and virtual reality (VR): From AI-enhanced radiologist workflows to VR applications driving behavioral modifications for mental health conditions, technology is enabling leaps in care quality and accessibility. 

• Diagnostics and precision medicine: Utilization of AI and machine learning is increasing in diagnostics and treatments, from improving in-vitro fertilization outcomes through viability predictions to personalized treatments for postpartum hemorrhage and birth control complications. 

Amid the heightened importance of personal health data management, particularly in the post-Roe market dynamics, femtech players are poised to intensify their focus on privacy, transparency and responsible innovation. Moreover, these companies must blend clinical validation with consumer targeting to deliver exceptional experiences, recognizing that relying on just one factor falls short. 

Market size and growth 

The femtech market has seen a surge due to technological adoption, new business models and transformed healthcare access for women. Challenges include funding and economic impacts. The market size is projected to reach $75 billion by 2025, with North American companies representing 55% of this market (see Figure 5). Subsectors like pregnancy, nursing and postpartum care, reproductive health and fertility, and menstrual care contribute significantly to the industry. 

The femtech market demonstrates remarkable potential as it expands in size and experiences robust growth, driven by technological advancements, investor interest and a diverse range of innovative solutions addressing various aspects of women’s well-being. 

Explore the femtech market 

As detailed above, the femtech market is experiencing significant investment and innovation, and at L.E.K., we are excited to be a part of it. As this industry evolves, so does our commitment to understanding its nuances and potential. We’d be happy to find time to connect on the future of femtech and help your organization successfully compete in this space. For more information, please contact technology@lek.com.

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