Flo Health, a reproductive and menstrual health app, secured $200 million in series C funding, boosting its valuation to more than $1 billion, the company announced Tuesday.
The London-based digital health company says the funding will position Flo for its next phase of growth with a focus on "expanding into new user segments including perimenopause and menopause."
Flo, a consumer-based app, also plans to invest in building out its tech-driven health insights and "pursuing strategic expansion opportunities," executives said in a press release.
General Atlantic backed the series C round. The company has raised at least $265 million to date including a $50 million series B round in 2021.
Flo says it's the first purely digital consumer women’s health app to achieve unicorn status, when a startup's valuation reaches $1 billion.
To reach its goals, the company plans to increase R&D head count with investments to grow its teams in its global offices in Europe and North America.
"Flo also intends to leverage General Atlantic’s significant expertise in scaling companies at the intersection of consumer technology, healthcare, and subscription business models," executives said.
As of June 2024, Flo serves nearly 70 million monthly active users and close to 5 million paid subscribers.
The company reports gross bookings for 2024 are expected to exceed $200 million, an approximately 50% year-over-year increase.
Flo provides period, menstrual and ovulation tracking, tailored health insights, a fertility calculator and guidance during pregnancy.
"Reaching unicorn status is a significant milestone for Flo and the entire femtech industry," said Dmitry Gurski, co-founder and CEO of Flo Health, in a statement. "When we started Flo, we identified a huge gap in women's health services. Now, we're a leader in a global movement to make women's health a priority everywhere. "
Flo's Pass it on Project aims to improve health literacy by providing up to 1 billion women in need with free access to Flo Premium.
"We're already helping hundreds of millions of women, and our goal is to reach 1 billion women through our global pro-social program. This initiative provides free access to Flo Premium across 66 countries, including India, Indonesia, and Nigeria, with nearly 12 million women already benefiting," Gurski said.
The investment from General Atlantic will help propel Flo Health’s growth as the company "continues normalizing conversations about women's health, improving health literacy, and raising awareness of women's health issues worldwide, especially in underserved regions," he said.
The women's digital health market, often referred to as "femtech," is projected to reach $60 billion industry by 2027, according to the company.
Flo's platform is supported by more than 120 doctors and health experts. Users can monitor over 70 symptoms and access various features designed to enhance their understanding and management of their health, including access to a private digital discussion community focused on health and wellness-related topics.
In 2023, Flo launched "Flo for Partners," which enables users to educate and empower their partners with scientific insights into their menstrual and reproductive health.
But, back in 2021, the company was in hot water over its data-sharing practices. In January 2021, the company settled with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over allegations that it lied to users about sharing private health information with third-party firms, including Facebook and Google.
Flo promised to keep users’ health data private and only use them to provide the app’s services to users. But, according to the FTC's complaint, Flo disclosed health data from millions of users of its Flo period and ovulation tracker app to third parties that provided marketing and analytics services to the app, including Facebook’s analytics division, Google’s analytics division, Google’s Fabric service, AppsFlyer and Flurry, according to the complaint.
As part of the settlement with the FTC, Flo Health must notify affected users about the disclosure of their health information and instruct any third party that received users’ health information to destroy those data.
In a statement on its website, the company said the FTC settlement "was not an admission of any wrongdoing." Rather, it was a settlement to avoid the time and expense of litigation. the company said.
Two years ago, the company launched an "anonymous node." That feature, which allows any Flo user the option to access the app without name, email address and technical identifiers, was designed to protect sensitive reproductive health information following the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and eliminating the federal constitutional right to abortion.
"This investment accelerates Flo's mission to revolutionize women's health," said Anna Klepchukova, Flo Health's chief medical officer. "With women spending 25% more of their lives in poor health compared to men, we're committed to changing this unacceptable status quo. As the #1 OB-GYN-recommended cycle tracking app, Flo empowers users with tailored health insights, enabling better-informed conversations with healthcare providers. We serve as a tool for preventive care and health education, helping our users recognize potential issues early and encouraging proactive healthcare management."