Berlin-based femtech startup Inne, a ‘hormone-based mini lab for women’ and ‘tool of radical self-knowledge’, has raised €8 million in Series A funding led by Blossom Capital.
Participating in the round is Monkfish Equity, an early backer of company, as well as several notable angel investors.
Inne was started in 2017 by Eirini Rapti who previously spent years working in healthcare. Rapti was motivated by her own desire to use natural contraception, but realised that traditional natural fertility methods were almost impossible to use reliably in real life.
Rapti was determined to find a way of leveraging technology to enable all women have a greater understanding of their bodies and take control of their contraceptive choices, so that they could make the most of their careers and relationships. Eirini set about developing a saliva biosensor device that enables women to identify and predict the fertile phase in their natural cycle.
Based on her own experience and through multiple user interviews, Rapti understood that a new product had to be compatible with a busy daily life, simple and hygienic to use, and more insightful than the period-tracking apps already on the market.
Rapti has built a cross-functional team of scientists, designers and engineers who developed the biosensor and reader as well as the connected app. The device will be available later this year, having achieved medical certification in Europe.
“It’s hard to go a day without reading headlines about young women and their fertility. Women want to know more about their bodies and how to control their reproductive health,” Rapti said in a statement.
“They may have concerns about when is the right time to start a family or they may already have decided that they don’t want to take hormones because of the side effects they experience. Many women feel that the current options do not meet their needs.
“I want women to start tuning into their hormones early so they understand more about their bodies. Most women only think about their fertility when they are trying to conceive and this becomes highly stressful and counter-productive. However, if you have an insight into how your body works from an earlier age, you can understand how to give yourself the best chance at starting a family at a time that’s right for you.”
“Inne has a winning combination of scientific validity plus usability that can enable women to better understand their bodies at all stages in their lives,” said Louise Samet, partner at Blossom Capital. “What really impressed us is the team’s meticulous focus on design and easy-of-use together with the scientific validity and clear ambition to impact women all over the world. We are very excited to join Eirini and her extraordinary team on the next stage of their journey.”
“We’ve been watching the way Eirini has put together a very impressive team and her meticulous approach to developing the product and the business model,” said Dirk Freise, founder at Shortcut Ventures. “Women are downloading period tracking apps but these lack any real insight or value for their users. Inne analyses the data it collects and makes it meaningful and useful. Enabling birth control without chemicals is a huge step forward for women all over the world.”
Inne will use the new funding to expand its team, drawn from all corners of Europe. New hires will include software engineers, design and operations members.
