“ Investment in women’ s health continues to reach new milestones, driven by a growing recognition of the ways in which health conditions impact women differently,” said Raysa Bousleiman, Co-author of the report and Senior Vice President for Investor Coverage in Life Science and Healthcare at SVB.“ While 2025 may present challenges, the long-term potential of the sector is clear, and we expect continued investment focused on addressing the unmet healthcare needs for women.”

Key findings from the Innovation in Women’ s Health Report include:

Venture capital investment in women’ s health startups has experienced significant growth in recent years, with funding reaching new heights in 2024. According to the latest report from Silicon Valley Bank( SVB), a division of First Citizens Bank, women’ s health investment hit US $ 2.6 billion last year, surpassing 2023’ s total by nearly US $ 1 billion. When including funding for related diseases that affect women differently or disproportionately, total investment in the sector rose to US $ 10.7 billion.

• Increased awareness is fuelling investment: Investment in women’ s health has grown significantly. In 2024, the sector saw a 55 % increase in VC investment, outpacing growth in the broader healthcare industry.

• Sector innovation follows broader healthcare trends: As the women’ s health sector evolves, it is increasingly diversified, following in the footsteps of the wider healthcare industry. Investment in HealthTech solutions dropped from 54 % in 2021 to 38 % in 2024, while biopharma investment surged to 34 %, up from just 12 % in 2021.

• Women’ s health investment stages now mirror the larger healthcare sector: In 2023, seed and Series A deals made up 83 % of women’ s health investments, compared to 72 % in the overall healthcare space. The gap narrowed in 2024, with seed and Series A deals representing 70 % and 67 %, respectively, of total deals in each sector.

• Precision medicine and personalised health are taking centre stage: Funding flooded into early-stage startups focused on filling gaps in clinical pathway guidelines for women’ s health. In 2024, VC investment in precision medical startups totaled US $ 3.6 billion, up from US $ 1.4 billion in 2023.

• Exits remain a challenge but potential is growing: The lack of exits in women’ s health has raised concerns about the sector’ s potential, with investors noting difficulty in finding comparable companies and doubts about large returns. However, recent IPOs and M & A activity in related areas suggest that women’ s health could help break the exit logjam in the broader healthcare market.

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