Venture-Backed Maternal Health Startups and the Maternal Health Crisis

Importance: In the setting of substantial maternal health disparities and poor outcomes, there has been increasing public and private investment in maternal health. While venture capital (VC) investing in pregnancy health can facilitate innovation, limited research exists. Objective: To describe VC-backed pregnancy health startups and assess how they address recognized problems in maternal health. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study analyzed VC-backed maternal health startups. Included companies were founded between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2022, headquartered in the US and directly related to the perinatal period. Exclusion criteria included non-health care companies, companies focused on prepregnancy, infant health companies, companies using pregnancy genetics technology to diagnose cancer, companies whose target population was outside of the US, and companies where maternal health was only 1 of many services provided. Financial databases were used to identify startups and obtain descriptive characteristics. Dual-coder content analysis was performed using company websites. Data were analyzed March to June 2025. Exposure: Maternal health companies funded by VC. Main Outcomes and Measures: VC-backed companies were assessed for business model, mention of health equity and maternal mortality, acceptance of insurance and/or Medicaid, and health care category. Results: Among 439 identified companies, 183 met inclusion criteria, and 172 were funded by VC in their last funding round. Of the 172 companies, $977.5 million was collectively raised during the study period and 52% ($508.3 million) of all funds raised were raised by 3 companies. One hundred thirty-three companies were actively in business with VC funding. The most common category among companies actively in business was virtual or hybrid wraparound pregnancy care (46 of 133 companies [34.6%]). The health care category raising the most capital was maternal and fetal health diagnostics ($520.1 million). The number of startups and funds raised for startups increased annually. Few startups mentioned health equity (23 of 133 [17.3%]) or maternal mortality (24 of 133 [18.1%]). Less than half of startups that could reasonably accept insurance accepted insurance and even fewer accepted Medicaid. Conclusions and Relevance: In this study, VC-backed startups are filling gaps in pregnancy care delivery. Startups have the potential to facilitate needed innovation and improvement in maternal health, but few focus on low-income populations or mention health equity.