Silicon Valley’s Femtech obsession is lazy and incomplete

Tech can't fix women's health if it keeps ignoring women

June 24, 2025

No time to rest for yours truly. Bonus: can you guess the city where this photo was taken?

If I could think of one word that captures my mindset for the next 6 months of 2025, it’s “grind.”

I recently acquired a triathlon coach via the magic of Instagram, and his note to me was that I had to “grind out the laziness.”

It made me laugh at the time, but now it’s cemented its spot in my brain.

This week’s deep dive on the women’s digital health opportunity is borne out of a nearly 20-page research report I wrote for the fund I work for.

I’d be lying if I told you it was easy to motivate myself. 6 months into a new role being asked to define and then refine a unique perspective on an area that I had never invested in at all was a battle.

But I’m proud of the outcome, and it’s given me conviction in an area of innovation that is not discussed often enough.

As I continue to hone my thesis for my personal investing endeavors via SPVs, I think I’m coalescing around the idea of “hiding in plain sight.” It seems ridiculous to point to a group that comprises 50% of the world’s population is “hiding” but, here we are.

I see my weekly newsletter as a weekly mini investment memo. Thanks for coming on this journey, and here’s to grinding on many more.

🚺 Why women’s digital health is more than just “wombtech”

Women are more than just their wombs.

Yet to hear Silicon Valley talk about it, you’d think that the only pressing area for investment is in fertility solutions.

Earlier this year, it seemed like every third call I was taking was with a founder building another fertility “solution” that was some version of a software layer that added even more complexity and work for providers and patients alike.

Venture capital also recently discovered menopause:

I guess VCs started learning about menopause in 2022.

While I’m glad that some of my colleagues are finally recognizing our needs, I wonder who will tell them this: heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women.

Not breast cancer. Not childbirth. Not some rare genetic disorder.

Heart disease.

And not only that — women are 50% more likely to be misdiagnosed after a heart attack. In fact, most of the diagnostic tools we rely on were built using male data. That means women often show up to the ER with textbook symptoms… and are told it’s anxiety.

Let that sink in.

When I started looking deeper, I found that less than 1% of total healthcare R&D goes to women’s health outside of reproduction. And of the money that does go into femtech? The majority still flows to fertility and menopause.

Important? Yes. But also incomplete.

What we’re missing is massive: AI-powered screening tools that can detect early-stage heart failure in women. Wearables tuned to female physiology. Cardiovascular care models that actually account for postpartum risk — the leading cause of death after childbirth isn’t hemorrhage or infection. It’s heart disease.

And if you’re thinking, “Surely someone’s building this,” the answer is yes — but not enough. The few companies in the space are up against data bias, reimbursement gaps, and legacy systems that still treat the male body as the default.

If you’re an operator, investor, or founder looking for where to place your next bet, here are 5 underexplored but high-potential areas in digital health:

1️⃣ Cardiac-focused wearables trained on female datasets. Most wearables are designed around male physiology, missing key markers in how heart disease presents in women. Devices that incorporate sex-specific algorithms can better detect arrhythmias, blood pressure variability, and other early cardiac risk signals — especially during hormonally dynamic life stages like perimenopause or postpartum.
2️⃣ AI-driven diagnostics for stroke, dementia, and chronic migraines. Women are twice as likely as men to develop Alzheimer’s, more prone to migraines, and face worse outcomes after stroke — yet diagnostic protocols still rely on one-size-fits-all models. AI tools trained on female brain imaging and symptom profiles can surface earlier, more accurate signals and unlock proactive interventions instead of late-stage treatment.
3️⃣ Postpartum cardiovascular care tools that go beyond OB/GYN. Heart disease is the leading cause of postpartum mortality. And yet, most new mothers never see a cardiologist. Tools that extend monitoring beyond the six-week OB visit, especially for high-risk groups, are urgently needed. Think remote monitoring paired with EMR integration, designed for the realities of postpartum life.
4️⃣ Digital therapeutics for women-specific neurological conditions. From hormonal migraines to anxiety and depression tied to reproductive cycles, women experience unique neurological patterns that current therapeutics rarely address. Tailored digital tools that are built on sex-specific data and adaptable to changing hormone levels can offer scalable, side-effect-free care for conditions that are often misdiagnosed or dismissed.
5️⃣ Data infrastructure that enables sex-specific personalization at scale. All of this innovation depends on one thing: better data. Most clinical algorithms are still trained on homogeneous male-biased datasets. There is a massive opportunity in infrastructure that standardizes, integrates, and anonymizes diverse health data — making it possible to build models that actually reflect the lived biology of half the population.

This is not niche. It is foundational. And it is wide open:

So why am I writing about this now?

Because this is a blind spot with massive cost — for families, for the economy, and yes, for investors. If you care about outsized returns and meaningful impact, women’s “non-wombtech” is not a feel-good side bet. It’s a generational opportunity hiding in plain sight.

And we are just getting started.

Your turn ⬇
What’s one area of healthcare you think is underhyped right now?

🎙 Content Recap

🎧New Money Memories will be released on Wednesday. Until then, you can continue enjoying my latest with Drew Barvir of Sonar Health, where we discuss how the emotional loss of his mother inspired him to build tools that provide better mental health solutions for young people.

Listen and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, including Apple and Spotify.

📍 Where I’ll Be / Where I Want to Be

If you are attending any of these upcoming events, let me know. I would love to find time to connect:

  • June 24 - 27: It’s a jam-packed week in SF! What started as a one-off trip to attend the Wharton Global Forum has turned into a full calendar of founder meetups, a GP dinner I am organizing sponsored by Sydecar, then attending an alumni networking reception where I’ve been asked to share some prepared remarks. It’s an honor and a thrill to be asked to speak and share my insights, and I’m excited to share how it goes next week.

  • August TBD: I’m cooking up an exciting women’s digital health collaboration with AllThingsFemtech. More to come!

  • 29 September - 2 October: I’ve registered for Sibos’ Frankfurt conference. If you’re attending, drop me a note.

If you’re in any of these places, add these to your radar:

💼 Job Openings

Continuing with the job openings I highlighted last week. Message me if you know anyone who you think would be a great fit.

If you have any relevant openings you’d like to share, send me a note and I will feature it in an upcoming edition.

🔗 Other Interesting Reads & Listens

📌Millions of Resumes Never Make it Past Bots. One Man is Trying to Find Out Why: A plain English analysis of something we already know.

📌The NYTimes’ Favorite Things from Trader Joe’s: Ever since their woefully tone-deaf article acting like shower caps were invented in 2016 I haven’t been able to take the New York Times seriously. However, cheese is the true way to my heart and I did raise a haughty eyebrow to see the paper actually have good taste and recognize the superb Le Delice de Bourgogne.

Till next week
🧀 Ilona

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