UK-based femtech startup Emm has successfully closed a $9 million (£6.8 million) seed funding round, led by Lunar Ventures. The capital will fuel the company's preparations for the official launch of its innovative smart menstrual cup, anticipated in 2026.
The concept for Emm originated during the COVID lockdown, when founder Jenny Button observed a significant gap in personal health tracking. While devices like the Oura ring and Whoop band offered insights into general bodily functions, there was no equivalent for reproductive and menstrual health—a critical aspect for many women.
"It seemed crazy to me, because these are things that every woman wants to be able to track and better understand," Button told TechCrunch. This realization sparked the idea for a wearable device dedicated to providing deeper insights into reproductive health. She then reached out to an engineer at Dyson, initiating a connection that would kickstart the development process.
After five years of extensive design, iteration, and user testing, Button announced the culmination of their efforts: "We've revealed the world's first smart menstrual cup."
Revolutionizing Menstrual Health Tracking
Emm's product functions similarly to a traditional menstrual cup, designed to collect period blood rather than absorb it. However, its medical-grade silicone is embedded with ultra-thin, advanced sensor technology. These sensors gather data that will empower users to understand patterns within their cycles. Button envisions this technology having a profound impact, stating it could "transform the research, diagnosis and treatment of menstrual and reproductive health conditions."
This perspective is echoed by other femtech founders, who recently highlighted menstrual blood as an "overlooked opportunity in women's health" to The Guardian. They suggest it could offer unique insights not available through circulatory blood tests.
For instance, this data could significantly aid in the diagnosis of painful and often misdiagnosed conditions like endometriosis. Button points out that "one in ten women today suffer from endometriosis," a condition that, like many others in reproductive health, typically takes an average of seven to ten years to diagnose.
Button attributes this diagnostic delay largely to "the lack of meaningful data and poor characterization of menstrual health in clinical settings." She believes that "there have been no reliable tools to accurately and objectively track that aspect of health until now." Beyond endometriosis, she notes that one in three women experience "severe reproductive health issues" throughout their lives.
Funding, Privacy, and Future Vision
The recent seed round, which Button described as "strategic," saw Lunar Ventures as the lead investor, with additional participation from Alumni Ventures (an early backer of Oura) and BlueLion Global. The funds will primarily support the product's launch into the UK market next year. Emm has already garnered significant interest, with its waitlist exceeding 30,000 pre-orders.
Crucially, Emm prioritizes user data privacy. Information gathered through the Emm app is encrypted, securely stored, and protected by two-factor authentication. Button emphasized that the data is "always anonymized or pseudonymized," meaning personal identifiers are removed or replaced with codes, and access is strictly limited to Emm personnel who genuinely require it.
Beyond the initial launch, capital will also be allocated to ongoing research and development. Button aims to expand into the U.S. market in early 2027. She views menstrual health as merely "the jumping off point for Emm," expressing a broader ambition: "Ultimately, I believe we will have a profound impact on women's health more broadly." Her long-term vision includes expanding the product into areas such as diagnosis, other digital care tools, and even therapeutics.
Emm's overarching mission, as articulated by Button, is to "accelerate diagnosis, equip people with the data to advocate for themselves, and ultimately help them take control of their own bodies and health journeys."
