A UK femtech startup just raised $9 million to solve one of healthcare's most overlooked data gaps. Emm's smart menstrual cup uses embedded sensors to track reproductive health patterns that could revolutionize diagnosis of conditions like endometriosis, which typically takes 7-10 years to identify. With 30,000 pre-orders already secured, the company plans to launch commercially in 2026.
Emm founder Jenny Button had her breakthrough moment during COVID lockdown. She was wearing an Oura ring and Whoop band, getting detailed insights about sleep and fitness, but realized something was missing from the wearables ecosystem. "It seemed crazy to me, because these are things that every woman wants to be able to track and better understand," Button told TechCrunch. The obvious gap? Reproductive and menstrual health data.
Five years and thousands of design iterations later, Emm just closed a $9 million seed round led by Lunar Ventures to bring what the company calls "the world's first smart menstrual cup" to market in 2026. The funding (£6.8 million) also includes Alumni Ventures - the same firm that backed Oura - and BlueLion Global.
The timing couldn't be better for femtech investors looking for the next breakthrough. While period-tracking apps have dominated the space, actual hardware that can gather biological data has remained virtually untapped. Emm's medical-grade silicone cup contains "ultra-thin, advanced sensor technology" that analyzes menstrual blood to detect patterns about users' reproductive cycles.
But this isn't just about convenience - it's about solving a massive healthcare blind spot. One in ten women suffers from endometriosis, according to Button's research, yet diagnosis typically takes seven to ten years. "That delay is largely due to the lack of meaningful data and poor characterization of menstrual health in clinical settings," Button explained. "There have been no reliable tools to accurately and objectively track that aspect of health until now."
The broader market opportunity is staggering. UK government data shows one in three women experiences severe reproductive health issues throughout their lives. Other femtech founders recently told The Guardian that menstrual blood represents an "overlooked opportunity in women's health" that could offer insights unavailable from traditional blood tests.
