EsterCare raises ~$750k (SEK 7m) to tackle women’s sick leave with its AI-powered workplace health platform
Women in Sweden currently take almost twice as much sick leave as men
Swedish healthtech company EsterCare has raised SEK 7 million (approx $750,000) in a new funding round aimed at expanding its AI-powered platform designed to address a persistent and often overlooked issue in the labour market: women’s health and its impact on sick leave.
The round includes backing from Vera Invest, Impact Invest, Annika Sten Pärson via The Inner Foundation, and entrepreneur and investor Tommy Jacobson. The capital will be used to further develop EsterCare’s AI platform and scale its workplace health offering to more employers.
At the centre of the company’s mission are sisters and co-founders Lydia Graflund Kastengren, CEO, and Helena Graflund Lagercrantz, a gynecology specialist. Together they are trying to address a structural gap in workplace health: many medical conditions affecting women remain underdiagnosed, misunderstood, or misclassified.
A gender gap in sick leave
Women in Sweden currently take almost twice as much sick leave as men, according to national labour statistics. But EsterCare argues that part of the problem lies in how health issues affecting women are recognised — or not recognised — within healthcare and workplace systems.
“We see in our data that a large part of women’s sick leave has a medical basis that is often not captured in healthcare,” says Lydia. “At the same time, the problems are often classified in the statistics as mental illness.”
And the distinction matters because when underlying conditions go undiagnosed, employees may cycle through sick leave, reduced productivity, or burnout without receiving appropriate care.
EsterCare’s model aims to identify those unmet health needs earlier.
Screening, AI analysis and specialist care
EsterCare’s digital platform is designed for employers and integrates annual health screenings, AI-based symptom analysis, and access to specialist expertise in women’s health.
Employees complete structured health assessments which are analysed by the company’s AI system. The platform then flags potential medical issues and connects individuals with relevant specialists when needed.
The focus is on conditions that frequently affect working-age women but are often overlooked in workplace health programmes — including PMS, menstrual disorders, menopause symptoms, and birth injuries.
According to company data from organisations already using the platform, the scale of unmet care needs is significant.
Nearly 40% of women who complete EsterCare’s screening receive an outcome linked to conditions such as menstrual disorders, PMS, menopause, or complications following childbirth.
Among those flagged, approximately 65% require ongoing care involving specialist medical expertise.
“Many women have normalised their symptoms or been told they are simply a natural part of life,” Lydia says.
“That means problems are often not treated until they start affecting someone’s ability to work.”
A workplace health issue — not just an HR benefit
EsterCare’s positioning reflects a broader shift in how women’s health is being framed within the corporate sector.
Rather than treating menopause or menstrual health as optional wellbeing initiatives, the company argues these issues should be seen as core workforce and productivity concerns.
The company currently works with employers including Nordea, Anticimex, Oskarshamn Municipality, Hammarby Football, and the Swedish Women’s Hockey League (SDHL).
EsterCare estimates that even small improvements in women’s health could have substantial economic implications. According to the company’s analysis, if women’s sick leave were reduced by an average of 1.4 days per year, it could generate at least SEK 12 billion in annual savings for Swedish society.
“Women’s health is not a niche HR issue,” says Lydia. “It is a productivity issue for the entire economy.”
Regulation and standards are catching up
The workplace dimension of women’s health is also gaining attention at an international policy level.
A new ISO standard focused on menstrual health and menopause in the workplace is expected to launch in 2026, aiming to guide employers on how to address these issues as part of structured workplace health and safety frameworks.
EsterCare is participating in the Swedish expert group via SIS (the Swedish Institute for Standards) alongside organisations including LO and Ericsson.
The involvement suggests that the company sees standardisation — not just technology — as a key lever in changing how employers address women’s health.
“We see a clear shift where women’s health is moving from being viewed as a wellbeing issue to becoming part of systematic work environment work,” says Lydia.
Looking ahead
With the new funding secured, EsterCare plans to continue developing its AI platform while expanding its employer base.
The company’s model sits at the intersection of several trends shaping the women’s health sector: the rise of AI-enabled triage tools, growing corporate interest in menopause and reproductive health policies, and increasing scrutiny of gender disparities in workplace health outcomes. As FutureFemHealth has covered previously, companies are recognising that they are currently absorbing gaps in the wider health system.
EsterCare previously raised 8 million SEK in February 2025 and acquired PCOS support app Ovulai in June 2025.