Merck Ventures is the strategic, corporate venture capital arm of Merck. Its mandate is to invest in innovative technologies and products with the potential to significantly impact Merck‘s core business areas. From its headquarters in Amsterdam and offices in the US and Israel we invest globally in transformational ideas driven by great entrepreneurs. Merck Ventures takes an active role in its portfolio companies and teams up with entrepreneurs and co-investors to translate innovation towards commercial success. Merck Ventures has a significant focus on early-stage investing and company creation including the creation of spin-offs to leverage Merck‘s science and technology base.

M Ventures

Whitecap Venture Partners is a Canadian-based Venture Capital fund investing in early stage technology companies. Whitecap is headquartered in Toronto and invests across Canada and the Northeastern US.  Since Whitecap’s inception the early 1990s, Whitecap recognises the power of real collaboration between entrepreneurs and investors. This rapport enables them to provide significant value to companies along with strong returns across investment cycles. Whitecap specialises in Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) and Medical Technologies. Whitecap is continually searching for upcoming ventures to support as the next generation of exceptional enterprises.

Whitecap Venture Partners

Future Fertility

Future Fertility is a fertility technology company focused on AI-enabled and non-invasive diagnostic solutions to optimize decision making throughout the IVF journey, maximizing the probability of positive outcomes in IVF workflows. The first product is an egg assessment software, which uniquely provides insights in egg quality and has the potential to improve success rates of IVF, egg freezing and egg donation cycles.

Future Fertility is an AI-driven biotech startup which offers a non-invasive image analysis tool to evaluate the quality of a woman’s eggs with a single image. The company’s “Violet” integrated hardware and software platform delivers AI tooling for lab use, which the company claims has a 90% accuracy in predicting successful fertilization by providing actionable feedback and predictions on egg quality—an improvement over existing methods that predict the potential of successful fertilization based on factors like the age and number of frozen eggs.

Long-term demographic changes are finally bringing fertility technologies into focus.

Fertility Tech

Future Fertility on LinkedIn: #ventus #ivf #eggfreezing #reproductivemedicine #embryology…

Future Fertility is an AI-driven biotech startup which offers a non-invasive image analysis tool to evaluate the quality of a woman’s eggs with a single image. The company’s “Violet” integrated hardware and software platform delivers AI tooling for lab use, which the company claims has a 90% accuracy in predicting successful fertilization by providing actionable feedback and predictions on egg quality—an improvement over existing methods that predict the potential of successful fertilization based on factors like the age and number of frozen eggs.In addition to egg-related predictions, Future Fertility also provides embryo predictions and uterus lining classifications. Olive Fertility Center, one of the largest fertility clinics in Canada, launched the Violet device for its operations in January 2021.In January 2022, the company raised an undisclosed amount in a Series A funding round led by M Ventures. The funding will be utilized to further develop its technology and improve IVF outcomes for millions of patients.

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 Glow offers apps that track data related to women’s fertility including ovulation cycle and pregnancy tracking. In addition to apps, the company also offers individualized fertility coaching, clinic identification and community support, and links patients with clinics for procedures such as egg freezing. 
 
 
 Glow generated around USD 0.3 million monthly revenue in October 2020, and as of February 2019 it had around 15 million users, and claims to have helped about 950,000 women get pregnant (from May 2013 to February 2019). In February 2019 Glow partnered with US Match Group (provider of dating products such as Match.com and Tinder), to provide Match’s employees with egg freezing benefits at reputed fertility clinics. In May 2017 it partnered with the National Institute of Health (NIH) to update a prediction model for couples trying to conceive.  
 
 
 In 2020, the company faced investigations into privacy and security failures involving its app. Glow agreed to pay a USD 0.25 million settlement in September 2020.
 
 
 
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Glow

<div>
 
 Inne, based in Germany, offers an at-home mini lab kit for women. Hormone analysis is conducted based on saliva samples. The lab device connects to smartphones for storage and access to the analysis results.
 
 
 Unlike peer offerings, Inne does not attempt to predict future cycles and fertility dates, and instead educates users about their bodies, with information on what changes they should feel in response to the hormonal levels on the day.
 
 
 In May 2022, Inne 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10667?industryIds=40">
 raised USD 10 million
 </a>
 in an extension to its Series A round led by DSM Venturing. The company utilized the funds to continue the development of its mini lab and platform, grow its team, and support its expansion across the US, where it aims to enter with its perimenopause feature, followed by an expanded product launch in late 2022.
 
 
 
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Inne

Proov (formerly known as MFB Fertility) offers the at-home “Proov'' ovulation and progesterone test. Proov tracks hormone levels in urine over multiple days, after suspected ovulation, and estimates whether the progesterone levels are sufficient for implantation, during the 7-10 day implantation window.As of May 2021, it was the only FDA-cleared urine PdG (urine metabolite of the progesterone hormone) test, and its method of determining the fertile window was patented. Moreover, it received the CE marking and expanded its sales footprint to Europe in June 2021.In June 2020, the company received a USD 1.3 million deal from the US Air Force, to provide Proov kits to enrolled individuals. The Proov test was distributed through leading US retailers such as Target and Amazon, and was also used by doctors across the country.Proov raised USD 9.7 million in Series A funding in December 2021, in a round led by Hambrecht Ducera Growth Ventures, with participation from other venture capital firms such as SteelSky Ventures, WCC Partners, and Lightship Capital, among others. The company expects to use the funding to grow its “Complete” product, which includes follicle-stimulating hormone tests and other multi-hormone tests that measure estrone glucuronide, LH and PdG.

Proov

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 Progyny works with employers (primarily large enterprises in the US) to optimize the fertility benefits they offer for their employees. It connects employees to fertility specialists and clinics, and also offers extensive support to patients through their Progyny Patient Care Advocates, who provide clinical guidance, education, and emotional support.
 
 
 The company was founded as a fertility education platform and eventually included in vitro fertilization (IVF) referral network Fertility Authority and reproductive health company Auxogyn, into its network. The company pivoted into offering fertility benefit solutions in 2016, and launched Progyny Rx (fertility medication benefit) in 2018.
 
 
 Progyny connects patients to a network of 800 fertility specialists and nearly 600 clinic locations.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 As of March 2022, the company served 264 enterprise customers (including Facebook, Microsoft, Google, and Nasdaq), and had 3.9 million active members.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In October 2019, Progyny raised USD 130 million through its IPO, where it was listed on the Nasdaq.
 
 
 In FY2021, the company reported a revenue of USD 500.6 million reflecting a 45% YoY growth and a net income of USD 65.8 million. The company&rsquo;s revenue for 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14396">
 Q3 FY2022
 </a>
 amounted to USD 205.4 million, representing 68% YoY growth. The management&rsquo;s revenue guidance for FY2022 ranges between USD 775 million and USD 785 million, which implies an YoY growth of 55% to 57%.
 
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Progyny

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 Prima Temp offers the artificial intelligence (AI) assisted “Priya” intarvaginal ring sensor and accompanying app to continuously measure a woman’s core body temperature, predicting fertility windows. The app uses big data to improve its predictions, and the app notifies the user of fertile windows. The company also offers the “Kindara” fertility tracking app, which provides fertility related education and links users to a community of over 140,000 members.  
 
 
 The company raised USD 5 million in funding in May 2019 from Gedeon Richter, a Hungarian pharmaceutical company. Although the company primarily focuses on fertility monitoring, it intends to expand its offerings to include other areas of fertility management such as contraception and menopause.  
 
 
 
 
 
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Prima Temp

Test kits which use saliva, blood, or temperature to determine hormone levels and form conclusions on fertility and fertility cycles.


Apps which use data science to identify fertility windows.

Organizations that freeze eggs or embryos for usage at a future date.


Services that analyze sperm samples (via test kit) and/or offer storage facilities for future use.

Companies specializing in supporting patient decision making, financing, clinical visits, physician referrals, and at-home treatments

Offers digital platforms and apps to provide fertility-related support

Uses AI/ML to improve cycle predictions and track symptoms

Some startups use genetic screening to tailor treatment or identify underlying issues

Future Fertility

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