Future Family, a start-up that combines fertility financing and care support, has raised $25 million in Series B funding led by Munich Re Ventures at a valuation of $80 million, company founder and CEO Claire Tomkins exclusively tells Axios.
Why it matters: Investors have flocked to fertility companies in recent months as the pandemic has helped boost awareness of gender-based disparities in care, funding and family planning.
Details: Other participants in Future Family’s Series B round include TriVentures, MS&AD, Orix, and existing backers Aspect Ventures, Mindset Ventures, At Inc. and OurCrowd.
How it works: Founded in 2016, San Francisco-based Future Family bridges the gap between fintech and digital health.
- It offers monthly financing plans for IVF and egg freezing starting at $250 per month and provides users with a registered nurse they can text and call with questions.
- Future Family also partners with other fertility companies, such as KindBody, to offer financing to its customers, and has seen 300% growth in gross transaction volume in 2021.
- The company will finance up to $50,000 at one time for IVF treatments and determine interest rates based on standard credit metrics. It does not limit its offer to customers of a certain age.
Between the lines: The high price of IVF treatments, which cost around $13,000 per cycle in the US, prompts entrepreneurs to focus on providing users with the financial support needed to begin the family planning process.
- “It seems like it’s never been harder to build a family,” says Tomkins, whose three children were all born via IVF. “Fertility is an incredibly stressful thing, and financing it might be the most stressful part.”
- Additionally, lower-income families and women of color have less access to fertility treatments compared to wealthy families and white women.
What they say: Industry observers say that Future Family fills an important need in fertility care by providing care support for common questions about IVF and egg freezing.
- “It’s not the nurse’s job to provide care coordination, so that’s a missing layer,” says Leslie Schrock, a series of women’s health investor and author.
And as investors and entrepreneurs increase their focus on fertility, expect to see more competitors enter the sector with similar or complementary offerings, such as London-based Gaia, New York-based Noula Health and San Francisco-based Sunfish.
- “It’s clear that something is broken — hardly anyone can afford it,” says Schrock.
- “We expect there will be more competition ahead,” says Tomkins. “It’s something that’s very much on people’s radar.”
This article has been updated to include current valuation figures for Future Family.
English
French
Spanish