19 experts predict what's in store for Femtech and women's health in 2026
Key insights from the people closest to innovation, policy and strategy in women's health
As we step into 2026, we move into an exciting phase for women’s health. If the past few years have felt repetitive - continually trying to prove that women’s health deserves attention - this year brings a noticeable shift towards where and how to keep progress going.
In last year’s 2025 predictions, our 11 experts highlighted growing momentum - in personalisation, AI, menopause, fertility and preventative care. The majority of the themes predicted did in fact play out during the year, as reflected in our end of year 2025 review.
For 2026, we again asked founders, investors, policymakers and ecosystem builders to share what they see coming next for women’s health innovation. Our 19 predictions below span biology, data, regulation, menopause care, environmental health and global ecosystem building.
Across them all, two themes stand out: consolidation and connection. This is about how existing innovation comes together and actually drives impact. There will be fewer standalone solutions, greater pressure to integrate and embed with clinical pathways, data infrastructure, policy and healthcare systems. All in all, this is a natural progression as women’s health begins to ‘grow up’ - with the noticeable outcome being that women’s health is increasingly established as a core foundation for how healthcare is designed and delivered.
Read on to find out more…
Infrastructure, systems & market shifts
1. “Women’s health innovation will become more connected and clinically grounded”
~ Monica Cepak, CEO of Wisp
“We’ll see tighter connections between virtual clinics, retail centers, and local health systems as more women start their care journeys online but still need labs or procedures.”
”Condition-specific care pathways will go beyond menopause and pelvic pain, extending into areas like irregular cycles, PCOS, and postpartum recovery.
“At-home testing will play a bigger role too - especially as policy shifts around sample collection and virtual prescribing.”
2. “Women’s health unicorns will be built on infrastructure, not apps”
~ Miranda Ewald, Director of Programs at Springboard Enterprises
”The most valuable women’s health companies of 2026 won’t be consumer apps but businesses solving unglamorous infrastructure problems such as diagnostics, reproductive care supply chains, maternal health logistics, and clinical workflow automation.
“The next unicorn will look more like a healthcare operating system than something you download onto a phone.”
3. “Consolidation will accelerate as crowded FemTech categories hit their limits”
~ Rachel Braun Scherl, Managing Partner, SPARK Solutions for Growth; Co-Founder, 51&.
“As competition intensifies and funding remains selective, many FemTech startups that haven’t found product–market fit will struggle to survive.
“We’ll see increased merger activity alongside closures, particularly in oversaturated areas like tracking apps and menopause supplements, resulting in fewer companies but stronger pressure on those that remain to prove differentiation and outcomes.”
4. “End-to-end women’s health solutions will replace fragmented point products”
~ Emily Greenberg, President and Co-Founder of Joy
“Women’s health innovation will move toward actual end-to-end solutions that close long-standing gaps between diagnostics, results interpretation, and follow-up care.
“You’ll see more personalized tools for women’s health concerns, especially postpartum care, where both physical recovery and mental health have long been underserved. These tools will adapt to a person’s stage of life, daily realities, and symptoms rather than forcing everyone into the same path.”
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Access, diagnostics and care delivery
5. “True at-home diagnostics will break stigma and prevent avoidable harm”
~ Adam de la Zerda, CEO and Founder of Visby
“We’re facing a silent epidemic where women lose their fertility to common, treatable STIs. The tragedy is stigma and access barriers prevent testing.
“The breakthrough of 2026 will be the move from mail-in kits to true at-home diagnostics. When women can get clinical-grade results and a prescription in the privacy of their bathroom, we remove shame — and stop treatable infections from becoming life-altering.”
6. “Accessible, patient-driven care models will define the next phase of women’s health”
~ Kara Egan, CEO and Co-Founder of Teal Health
“The appetite for at-home testing, virtual visits, and self-guided treatment is undeniable, from cervical cancer screenings to menopause management; that trend shows no signs of slowing.
“We’ll likely see more fully integrated care journeys that bring diagnostics, monitoring, and treatment into one, seamless experience. Regulatory changes around at-home testing and telehealth are also likely to expand, which will make it easier to standardize protocols for hormone therapy, chronic condition management, and preventative screenings.”
Biology, deep tech & clinical grounding
7. “Women’s biology will reshape how medicine understands aging, mental health, and reproduction”
~ Dr Brittany Barreto, Author of Unlocking Women’s Health: FemTech and the Quest for Gender Equity
“We’ll see far more attention on why women are opting out of motherhood — and the economic and healthcare consequences of declining birth rates will alarm policymakers.
“At the same time, research into ovarian longevity, menopause-related brain health, and pregnancy-driven immune regulation will continue to show that women’s biology unlocks discoveries relevant to all of medicine.
“We’ll also see growing scrutiny of GLP-1 marketing to mothers and menopausal women, alongside renewed interest in psychedelics and plant-based medicine.”
8. “Reproductive deep tech will move from concept to clinic”
~ Jordan Abdi, Co-Founder and CEO of U-Ploid Biotechnologies
“In 2026 I expect to see 3 mega waves begin to take shape: Reproductive “deep tech” moving from concept to clinic; a correction in FemTech business models towards evidence and reimbursement; and fertility and menopause products move from “perk” to infrastructure in health systems and employers.
“This will blur the line between FemTech and traditional biotech and force regulators and payers to treat reproductive longevity as a serious therapeutic category.
“I also think more women’s health companies designing products around clear reimbursement pathways (CPT/HCPCS codes in the US; NICE/commissioning logic in the UK and Europe), rather than direct-to-consumer alone. A marked shift from self-reported symptom outcomes to hard endpoints (time to diagnosis in endometriosis, IVF live-birth rates, surgical avoidance, reduction in unplanned admissions in menopause and perinatal care). The net effect will be fewer products, but those that survive will look and behave much more like conventional medtech/biotech businesses.
“And in 2026 I think we’ll see a transition away from fertility or menopause support being framed purely as an HR benefit, towards being treated as part of the core risk pool for health systems and insurers.
“Across all of this, the continual theme is that the most interesting women’s health innovation in 2026 will be: mechanistic rather than cosmetic, evidence-seeking rather than hype-driven, and designed to plug into real-world reimbursement and clinical pathways.”
9. “Fertility innovation will become a cornerstone of longevity science”
~ Angela Rastegar, CEO and Co-Founder of Sunfish
“In 2026, AI will underpin the entire fertility journey—helping predict patient paths, optimize timing, and guide personalized treatment and financing options seamlessly. AI will be less about “hey, we use AI” and more about enabling tailored and accessible fertility care without sacrificing empathy or transparency. Most importantly, AI will allow for more personalized treatment.
“In fertility, innovations such as robotic IVF labs and AI-driven embryo selection will make treatment more precise, efficient, and hopeful. Advances like creating eggs from skin cells and artificial womb technology point to transformative new frontiers that may change family-building options in the next decade. These scientific leaps will not only raise success rates but also improve personalization and patient empowerment at every stage.
“Longevity has been an area of experimentation, but new insights bring us closer to true transformation. Fertility is a leading area of insight into aging and will remain so in 2026. When we extend ovarian health, we can extend and understand holistic aging.
“Finally, egg freezing, donor conception, and surrogacy will move from edge cases to mainstream options in many family‑building plans, especially for LGBTQIA+ families and single parents by choice. In 2026, the bigger story won’t just be that these paths are more common but also that more companies are building solutions to address them.”
Data, diagnostics, AI & regulation
10. “Data privacy will become non-negotiable — and a competitive advantage”
~ Sonja Rincón, CEO and Co-Founder of Menotracker
“Women won’t accept privacy policies anymore — they’ll demand proof their data is technically impossible to access.
“Privacy-by-design and zero-knowledge architectures will move from niche to baseline, while companies building for the most privacy-protective jurisdictions will gain a real competitive edge.”
11. “Wearables and wellness tools will be forced to grow up — or get left behind”
~ Blythe Karow, Head of The Karow Advisory Group and Publisher of The Device Files
“Users want clinically relevant data they can use to make real healthcare decisions, and regulators are getting much more serious about enforcement.
“As we move towards this world of clinically-relevant data, this means that our wearables and apps need to be prepared to ultimately become regulated medical device software - or set very strict guidelines internally to make sure they don’t step over that line. Companies that don’t prepare for medical-grade validation and regulation will be left behind as the dinosaurs of the wearables world.”
12. “Citizen science datasets will start answering women’s health’s hardest questions”
~ Rhiannon White, CEO of Clue
“We’ll see more research coming out based on large-scale, longitudinal women’s health datasets built up by women themselves as they engage with the wide range of femtech/consumer healthtech products in the market now. Researchers will use these incredibly valuable citizen datasets to start answering some of the many unanswered - and underfunded - questions in women’s health. We will also see more research blending formal clinical studies with consumer healthtech, helping further advance our understanding of women’s health and lived experiences.
“Separately, I product that women will demand more partnerships and bundles to solve their needs. Women are getting fed up with having to continuously build - and pay out of pocket for - their own health ‘stack’ when it comes to using consumer healthtech to support their basic health and wellness goals. That burden is shifting. In 2026, women will reward brands and organizations that build smart, integrated and responsive offerings that partner together best-in-class solutions that are both efficient and seamless. The businesses that will win are those who create smarter offerings that meet women’s needs, but without added cost or effort.”
13. “Femtech will move from isolated tools to shared, interoperable ecosystems”
~ Sophie Louise Feith, Hanah Ecosystem
“We’ll see a transition away from single-purpose Femtech tools toward shared infrastructures that allow data and insights to move across apps, clinics, and research environments.
“At the same time, more women will recognise the value of their health data as something that can actively shape research and care — not something passively extracted.”
Menopause, midlife & hormonal health
14. “Menopause care will shift from stigma and scarcity to structured, longitudinal care”
~ Katy Whalen, Co-Founder and COO of Joi + Blokes
“HRT is still dramatically underused in the US, with only about five percent of eligible women receiving it. The removal of the HRT black box warning is a major turning point, and more women will seek proactive menopause care even if clinician confidence lags behind.
“AI can support earlier detection, but human-led, personalised care will become a key differentiator as women demand to be taken seriously.
“I’m relieved to see the stigma around GLP-1s finally beginning to soften. What’s most fascinating is how much broader their impact might be. Beyond metabolic support, we are seeing early signals related to inflammation, alcohol intake, PCOS, fertility, and even neurodegenerative conditions.”
15. “Employer menopause benefits will move from perk to baseline infrastructure”
Mayra Hurtado, Co-Founder of FemTech Mexico and Prelude Health / Hormony
“Menopause support will increasingly be treated like maternity or mental health within employer benefits.
“The most effective solutions will be longitudinal programs that integrate testing, wearables, and symptom tracking rather than one-off consultations.”
Environment, lifestyle & consumer expectations
16. “Environmental health will enter the women’s health mainstream”
Hannah Wrathall, Wrapp Consulting
“We’ll start to get more serious about microplastics, endocrine disruptors, and environmental exposures and their impact on women’s reproductive and brain health.
“Awareness is growing, and that will increasingly shape women’s health conversations.”
17. “Women’s health products will be designed for real life, not just symptoms”
Alison Slingsby, Global Lead Women’s Health Innovation, Perrigo
“A staggering 97% of women aged 45-59 (in a University of Copenhagen survey with 153,800 respondents) experience symptoms during the menopausal transition. In addition, 59% of girls aged 13-18 have reported missing school due to their menstrual cycles, with approximately half of those attributed to severe menstrual pain.
“Consumer expectation is shifting towards products that combine functionality and convenience. Products that are visually appealing, portable and easy to use are gaining momentum as they fit seamlessly into daily life.
“Solutions that resonate with teens and young adults who need solutions during school or work hours are essential. Products that can deliver pain relief in discreet, travel-ready formats will help reduce stigma and enable on-the-go use without embarrassment.”
18. “2026 will be a pivotal year for EU women’s health policy — but funding will lag ambition”
Ffion Storer Jones, Senior Policy and Advocacy Officer at Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevoelkerung (DSW)*
“Women’s health is firmly on the EU political agenda: with the updated EU Gender Equality Strategy expected in March, the European Parliament set to publish two own initiative reports on the gender health gap, and continuous cross-sector calls for an EU women’s health strategy.
“While I remain stubbornly optimistic (and hope to be proven wrong), I think investment from the EU in women’s health innovation could grow, but will remain inconsistent into 2026.”
*please note, all views are personal and may not reflect the position of employers.
19. “Research, pharma, and integration will define who survives in women’s health”
Berthe Latreille, Angel Investor and Founder of FemHealthX
“The two areas where we most need progress are research and the role of pharma in women’s health. Movement in either would matter, but together they would be game-changing.
“One positive trend i’m seeing is more men building businesses in this space. In most cases they have a woman co-founder, which feels both necessary and constructive — and, pragmatically, it does help when it comes to funding.
“I’m also seeing more companies design propositions that serve both women and men, where clinically appropriate. This is especially evident in areas like cardiovascular disease and dementia, and in many cases it’s a sensible approach.
“I expect to see far more integration. I don’t believe many of these businesses will survive as standalone ventures. Collaboration and partnerships will be essential.”
Conclusion
Taken together, these predictions suggest that 2026 will be less about proving the promise of women’s health innovation and more about proving it has durability.
Across infrastructure, data, biology, and care delivery, the emphasis is shifting toward solutions that can stand up to clinical scrutiny, regulatory pressure, and real-world complexity. Standalone apps are giving way to platforms, hype is being replaced by evidence, and women’s health is increasingly being recognised not as a niche category but as a foundation for understanding health, longevity, and disease more broadly.
If 2025 was about momentum, 2026 looks set to be about consolidation, connection, and credibility — it’s a defining (and exciting) inflection point for the sector.
Such an amazing read, especially for early stage femtech startups founders… this really helps us understand how the future of health tech and femtech flows, allowing us to work within the industry… thank you for this