Perelel, a women’s health company, has acquired LOOM, a Black-led FemTech company, for an undisclosed amount.
LOOM’s founder, Erica Chidi, will join Perelel as a strategic advisor as part of the acquisition.
Chidi said: “ I am proud to join Perelel as a strategic advisor and combine our power to amplify our shared mission of supporting women of all stages throughout their hormonal lifespan.”
Alex Taylor, Perelel’s co-CEO and Co-Founder, stated, “LOOM’s platform offers comprehensive support across a range of essential topics, including menstrual health, sexual wellness, pregnancy, and postpartum care—all of which Perelel stands for.”
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Meet Loom, the FemTech Educational Health Platform
LOOM was launched in 2017 as an in-person experience offering women educational content about reproductive and sexual health education. It was later expanded into an online subscription digital platform, providing courses, content and community support to women.
The FemTech platform provides health resources to women and non-binary individuals, covering topics from menstrual health to menopause. It also offers stage-specific guidance and personalized support.
It raised $6.5 million from investors like Slow Ventures and Founders Fund and celebrities such as actress Tessa Thompson and Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow.
“I was, like, the 34th Black woman to raise over a million dollars in venture capital,” Chidi told TechCrunch, adding that she didn’t expect she would raise the nearly $3 million in three months back in late 2019.
More About Perelel, the Women’s Health Company
Founded in 2020 by Victoria Thain Gioia and Alex Taylor, alongside Medical Co-Founder Dr. Banafsheh Bayati, Perelel offers targeted nutrition for different stages of a woman’s hormonal journey. The company grew in response to a perceived need for more precise approaches to hormonal care, particularly in prenatal nutrition.
According to the company, Perelel has expanded its product portfolio by 50% and sold 48 million capsules in the past year. It has reported 120+% year-over-year growth since its inception. Perelel recently secured a $6 million Series A financing round led by Unilever.
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Victoria Thain Gioia, Perelel’s Co-CEO and Co-Founder, added: “Together, we are expanding and normalizing conversations around reproductive and sexual health, providing evidence-based information, and creating a supportive community for women to explore and understand their bodies and choices.”
This acquisition combines Perelel’s medically-backed approach with LOOM’s community-driven educational platform. Perelel said its next steps are “the broader goal of supporting women and women’s health.”
The Evolving Landscape of FemTech
The issue of women’s health has been under the spotlight over the past few years, especially since the Supreme Court struck down national access to abortion in the US.
Gioia, co-CEO with Taylor, recalls during Perelel’s pre-launch, when investors asked them how big the women’s health market was for fertility, pregnancy and postpartum, believing it was a small opportunity for revenue. “The positive of today is that, at least from the investor community, they realize that women’s health is a very small opportunity for all of us to solve,” she told TechCrunch.
These numbers show some healthy growth, but in recent years, all companies — unless they’re AI — have seen some difficulty in the funding environment. According to the Silicon Valley Bank 2023 report, the flow of venture dollars to women’s health companies increased 314% since 2018, compared to a 28% increase for the health sector.
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Billions are flowing into the industry: Deloitte found that 2% of venture dollars into the health sector went to women’s health companies, hitting $41.2 billion in 2023.
