Clue

While 50% of our global population are women, the women’s health market represents a mere 0.3% of the $10 trillion spent on health annually.

As scientists now agree that women’s health patterns are very different from men’s, the opportunity for products and services that cater to women is enormous. Women want (and need) better health information and services at each stage of their lives, yet female health remains vastly underfunded and underserved.

The lack of historical research focused on female health contracts with – and is sometimes a cause of – the higher risk that women face with some of the most challenging conditions. Autoimmune diseases, for example, affect approximately 8% of the global population, but 78% of those affected are women. Women are 3x more likely than males to develop rheumatoid arthritis and 4x more likely to be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that attacks the central nervous system. These male-female disparities are present across the medical world – for pathologies like Alzheimer’s, heart attacks, or chronic pain conditions. The innate differences between males and females, and the deficiencies in research, have sometimes led to terrible consequences. 80% of the drugs removed from the US market from 1997 to 2000 were withdrawn because of side effects that occurred mainly or exclusively in women.

This major medical discrepancy is the root of the “femtech” movement, which defines a group of technological products and services designed to support and advance women’s health. These include fertility solutions, period and fertility tracking apps, reproductive system health care, women’s sexual wellness products, pregnancy, post-pregnancy and nursing care, period care goods, at-home fertility monitoring devices, or next-generation breast pumps.

We were introduced to the team at Clue after deep-diving into femtech. We had already built conviction that femtech was a challenge and a market opportunity worth investing in. We quickly realized that Clue stood out from the pack.

Clue is the pioneer of the femtech industry. The company was created a decade ago by Ida Tin, the woman who coined the term “femtech”. Their first product was their period tracking app, which is now loved by its 11 million monthly active users. In parallel, Clue built a strong and trusted consumer-facing brand through science-based education and privacy protection.

Clue’s scientific credibility is evidenced by the many partnerships the company built with the world’s top research institutions to advance female health. Examples include partnering with Stanford to study the impact of menstrual cycles on mood, behavior, and vital signs, Columbia to predict upcoming cycle start dates using tracking data, the Gates Foundation to study contraceptive preferences, or John Hopkins to study the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and/or Covid vaccinations on menstrual cycles.

The fallout of the US Supreme Court’s vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, which eliminated the United States’ right to abortion, shed light on Clue’s focus on trust and privacy. As concerned citizens launched protests across the country, calls arose on social media for women to delete their period tracking app, so their personal data could not be used against them in potential criminal proceedings. With its focus on data de-identification and data encryption, its business model that does not rely on selling data to third parties, and its honest communication, Clue emerged organically as a trustworthy option.

In 2021, they cleared regulatory barriers to deliver the world’s first FDA-approved and clinically proven data-driven fertility awareness method of contraception. Their product, Clue Birth Control, leverages the power of machine learning to provide personalized predictions and increase efficacy and accessibility. This also set the stage for Clue to launch other products, including medical-grade products, that will support the company’s goal to become the life companion of women at each life stage.