Canadian menopause start-up Coral secures $4.1 million seed round
The virtual care platform will deliver integrated, personalized solutions
Women’s digital health startup Coral has announced the completion of a $4.1 million CAD Seed funding round and the launch of its virtual care platform.
The investment was led by Brightspark, with participation from Diagram and The51 and joined by high-profile angel investors.
Coral will use the investment to deliver integrated, personalized solutions for women navigating perimenopause, menopause and beyond in Canada.
Anna Chif, Co-Founder and Chair of Coral said:
“Women navigating menopause should live their best years. Yet, far too many of us unnecessarily struggle with health issues.”
“We offer effective solutions for women to achieve optimal health by leveraging the latest validated research and best practices.”
Tackling the health impact of menopause
95% of women experience symptoms during menopause, for some lasting over 10 years and being completely debilitating. Women make up almost 50% of the workforce, and an estimated 1 in 10 will leave their jobs due to unmanaged symptoms of menopause, according to the Menopause Foundation of Canada, HR Review UK.
“Coral aims to solve the health impact of menopause symptoms by empowering women with accessible, personalized care. It integrates a medical-first approach with lifestyle behaviour change support, all delivered through leading edge technology,” said Fiona Lake Waslander, Co-founder and CEO of Coral.
“Our digitally-powered platform and seamless experience ensures our members feel supported and thrive during their menopause journey and beyond.”
Coral’s virtual platform includes detailed health assessments such as at-home blood testing and in-depth health questionnaires to get detailed and complete pictures of each woman’s health status. From there, Coral provides personalized care plans tailored by nurses and supported through consultations with medical doctors, nurse practitioners and health coaches. Finally, preventative team-based medical care provides integrated support as well as prescriptions when necessary and lifestyle guidance to optimize nutrition, fitness, and mental well-being.
Experienced founders
Founded by Anna Chif (Chair), Fiona Lake Waslander (CEO), and John McCalla (CTO), Coral was born out of a shared recognition of the health decline women experience in their mid-life due to the lack of preventative and effective menopause care.
Prior to founding Coral, Anna co-founded Dialogue—Canada’s largest telemedicine provider that went public in 2021 and was subsequently acquired by Sunlife Financial in 2023.
Alongside her co-founders Anna is now leveraging her extensive experience scaling healthcare solutions to shape Coral’s impactful model. The founding team is combining their expertise in healthcare innovation, product development, and scaling technology to redefine how women access care in what should be the prime years in a woman’s life.
“We’re proud to back Anna, Fiona, and John—visionary repeat founders with exceptional D2C and digital health expertise,” said Sophie Forest, Partner at Brightspark Ventures. “Women’s digital health has long been underserved, and Coral is set to redefine care, improve millions of lives, and seize a massive opportunity.”
“Coral’s innovative approach to menopause care aligns with our dedication to investing in companies that drive meaningful change,” said Gaurav Kapoor, General Partner at Diagram. “We are excited to support their work in providing personalized, technology-enabled solutions for women navigating this critical transition.”