Navigating early-stage funding for FemTech companies in the UK: Key insights for founders and investors

The FemTech sector — technology focused on women’s health and wellness — is experiencing rapid growth in the UK. Out of the 540 active FemTech start-ups in Europe in 2023, 31.8% were in the UKⁱ and the UK is ranked second globally (only behind the US) in terms of investment in the FemTech sector. However, most start-ups are still very early stage with 36.8% at the pre-seed and seed stages, and 43.8% having yet to raise funds.ⁱⁱ While early-stage funding remains a critical challenge for emerging companies, in the UK, a mix of public and private funding avenues are available to help FemTech startups move from idea to impact.

This article outlines the main early-stage funding options available to UK-based FemTech companies and highlights key legal considerations at each stage. 

Equity Investment: Angel and Venture Capital 

Equity investment remains the most common form of early-stage funding. Angel investors and venture capital (VC) funds provide capital in exchange for equity, typically through instruments such as ordinary shares, preferred shares, simple agreements for future equity (SAFEs) or convertible loan notes. Such investors often bring strategic expertise, networks and credibility. 

Key Legal Considerations: 

• Founders should be prepared for equity dilution and for requests from investors to have board representation and/or consent rights over key decisions affecting the business. Sketching out these key terms (and others) in a term sheet is a good way to ensure that everyone is on the same page before costs are incurred in the legal process. 
• Investment rounds typically involve the negotiation of investment and shareholders’ agreements, updates to the company’s constitution (articles of association) and legal due diligence. Advance planning, such as setting up a well-organised data room and ensuring that the company’s statutory filings and books are in order, will ensure that things go smoothly. 
• It’s crucial to be able to show investors that the company’s share capital and IP ownership position is clear and well-documented. Getting any remediation work done ahead of time will help keep things on track, and on budget, once the investment process starts.

Notable Examples: 

• Nabla, a femtech startup focused on digital tools for women’s health, raised $24 million in Series B funding in 2024, led by Cathay Innovation with participation from ZEBOX Ventures.
• In January 2023, Peppy, a gender specific healthcare employee benefits provider, secured £37 million in a Series B funding round led by Albion Capital.

Grants and Public Funding 

Public funding bodies in the UK offer non-dilutive grants, particularly for innovation, research and health-related technology. Non-dilutive grants are an attractive source of capital, particularly for early-stage companies undertaking research and development, because they allow founders to grow their company (and develop its technology) to a point where they can obtain a more favourable valuation when raising equity funding. 

Key Legal Considerations: 

• Grants often come with reporting obligations and often the disbursements are milestone-driven. 
• Companies must ensure compliance with State Aid rules and any relevant R&D tax relief schemes. 
• The terms of any grant (particularly terms relating to IP) must be carefully considered to ensure that they will not limit the company’s ability to commercialise its technology as planned. 

Notable Examples:

In February 2025, four FemTech start-ups (The Daughters of Mars, Boost, BirthGlide and Bloomful) received £75,000 each in Innovate UK awards.

Accelerators and Incubators 

There are a variety of women’s health-focused accelerators and incubators set up in the UK. Accelerators programmes, particularly those focused on health and technology, can provide early-stage startups with structured support (including mentorship and business development support), seed funding and investor exposure.

Key Legal Considerations:

• Most accelerators take equity stakes, often via SAFE notes or convertible loan agreements. 
• Founders should carefully review programme terms, especially around IP ownership, confidentiality and future fundraising rights. What impact (if any) will these have on the company’s ability to raise further funds and commercialise its technology?

Notable Examples:

• Enhanced Fertility, a digital platform focusing on data, AI and remote diagnostics for fertility care, is a member of the 2024-2025 KQ Labs accelerator led by The Francis Crick Institute. 
• Unfabled, an AI-powered wellness marketplace is backed by FemTech Lab and raised $1.6 million in seed funding in 2024, which included investments from Morgan Stanley and various VC funds and angel investors.
• Demetria, a company which develops AI-based solutions to diagnose endometriosis, is part of the 2024 cohort of impulse, the University of Cambridge’s entrepreneurship programme. 

Crowdfunding 

Equity or rewards-based crowdfunding platforms have made equity crowdfunding a viable route for many FemTech companies, especially consumer-facing brands. Such platforms also allow founders to raise awareness of their brands during the fundraising process.

Key Legal Considerations: 

• Requires a robust set of legal agreements and due diligence pack. Be sure to use a reputable platform that has a well-designed investment process.
• A large base of retail investors creates governance complexity which can impede future financing rounds. A well-drafted nominee structure can mitigate risk here. 
• The reputational risk should also be considered if targets are not met, given that the company is inherently more visible to the public. 

Notable Examples: 

• Hertility Health, a women’s health start-up focused on hormone and fertility health, raised over £2 million in equity crowdfunding on the Crowdcube platform in 2024. 
• Callaly, an organic period products FemTech start-up and B-Corp raised EUR 1.9 million in equity crowdfunding on the Crowdcube platform in 2020. 

University Spinouts and Academic Funding 

For FemTech companies emerging from academic settings, spinout funding and support are available via certain university programmes. 

Key Legal Considerations: 

• Requires the company to obtain all necessary IP assignments and licenses from the relevant institution.
• Bear in mind the employment and tax status of academic founders, and the extent to which they will continue with their academic work alongside their work for the spinout. 
• Legal clarity is essential when seeking follow-on VC investment to ensure clean cap tables and freedom to operate, without the risk of shareholder or IP disputes. 

Notable Examples: 

• Endomagnetics Ltd, a medical device company whose foundations lie in the London Centre for Nanotechnology at UCL and the University of Houston, was acquired by Hologic, Inc. in 2024 for approximately $310 million. 
• Wellspring, one of UCL’s ‘Social Venture’ spinout companies, was designed to improve the information-giving and consent processes in women’s health. The resource was set up in 2020 by a team of clinicians working at University College London Hospital. 

Key Takeaways

While capital is essential, the legal structure behind the funding can have a big impact on how much value and sustainable growth a company will derive from it. Founders of early-stage FemTech companies should consider: 

• The impact of equity dilution, and whether non-dilutive funding options are available. 
• The conditions attached to any funding, and whether they are compatible with the company’s ultimate goals. 
• The importance of good housekeeping in areas such as share capital and IP, so that any issues can be dealt with early on, before they come up as “red flags” as part of any investment process (see our patent ownership article for women’s health companies here).
• Putting in place robust legal agreements to ensure that they can navigate future events in a predictable way and avoid costly disputes and delays.