Intimate Health Market Maps (Part 3)

7 min readDec 2, 2020

So what’s actually in each of these Intimate Health categories? What are some of the business model, end market, and funding trends? Read below for all four market maps: FemTech, SexTech, FamTech, and RelationshipTech!

FemTech Market

FemTech Market Map:

Global FemTech Market Metrics:

Some sources (including Global Market Insights) value the global FemTech market at $17b in 2018, and project it to grow to $48.7b by 2025 (16.3% CAGR). They cite growth drivers such as use of digital technology in developed countries, improved access to female care in rural/remote areas, growing awareness of female health more generally, and the increasing burden of chronic and infectious diseases on women. Their headwinds? Lack of awareness of FemTech and lack of existing investments.
Other sources (including Emergen Research) cite similar numbers: $18.8b market size in 2019, projected to hit $60.0b by 2027 (16% CAGR). Growth drivers here include societal emphasis on reproductive health and sexual empowerment in developed countries, government efforts in developing countries to raise awareness of female health and related issues, an increasing propensity towards preventive care, and technology to track individual health issues.

FemTech Funding Trends:

Historical Funding: According to Pitchbook’s FemTech tag, from 2018-Q3 2020, FemTech companies have raised almost $1.9b of capital, as shown below. The spike in 2018 was due to an $83m capital raise (uBiome); uBiome has since filed for bankruptcy. Pitchbook is not a comprehensive assessment of the market, but directionally implies that funding could be on the rise in 2020 (excluding the uBiome raise in 2018). If 1H 2020 is indicative of 2H 2020, perhaps by year end 2020, FemTech companies will have raised ~$815m, which would be a large increase over either of the two prior years.

Many female health companies are still early in their funding cycle, and 17% have raised no institutional capital to date.

Amount of Capital Raised: In terms of capital raised, only 58% of companies had available information regarding capital raised. Of those, almost two-thirds have raised less than $5m in funding to date.

Investors: There is a broad range of investors in this space, but many companies have gone through accelerators such as 500 Startups, SOSV, Techstars, or YC. Some companies have raised capital from venture funds such as Alumni Ventures Group, Astarte Ventures, Backstage Capital, Founders Fund, MassChallenge, Maveron, NEA, RHIA Ventures, Springboard Enterprises, and XFactor Ventures, as well as others. The US government has also funded some companies, for example, through the federal Department of Health and Human Services and the NIH.

FemTech Business-Model Trends:

Broad Range of Viable Business Models: Of the consumer-oriented companies (77% of FemTech companies), only ~20% involve some clinician conversation or contact. While there is an opportunity to invest in female health care delivery models, there are a significant portion of FemTech companies that are products or online services, and do not explicitly include providers.
Social/Population Impact: While some have mentioned that female health investing might have an impact-investing “lens” to it; however, it appears that only 8% of companies have some social impact “lens.” For these companies, their social impact comes primarily from serving to broaden health education and/or the supply of menstruation products in the developing world, such as in India and on the African continent (e.g., Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda).
Natural/Reusable: In the FemTech sector, 14% of companies have a natural/organic or reusable component to them, and, of these companies, the majority are suppliers of menstruation products (e.g., menstrual cups, pads, tampons, and underwear).
Subscription-Based Products: While subscription-based companies such as LOLA (a subscription period-products company, with additional sexual-health-related products) have gotten a lot of press lately, only ~5% of FemTech consumer-oriented companies are “subscription based” products.

SexTech Market

SexTech Market Map:

Global SexTech Market Metrics:

This market is trickier to pin down, given the lack of published research and varying definitions of SexTech/sexual wellness. It is likely that there is some overlap with FemTech, though I believe it to be minimal.
Global: Some sources (Arizton) project growth from $25.5b in 2019 to $40b by 2025 (8% CAGR). Other sources (Medgadget) expect growth from $21.8b in 2017 to $36b in 2023 (9.2% CAGR).
US: One source (Grandview Research) expects the US sexual wellness market to grow from $9.1b in 2019 to $13.5b in 2027 (5.2% CAGR).
Europe: The European sexual-wellness market is expected to grow from $5.6b in 2018 to $8b by 2024 (6% CAGR) according to Arizton.
Asia: The East Asia sexual wellness market is expected to grow at a similar rate from 2018–2024 (7% CAGR), according to ReportLinker.

SexTech Funding Trends:

Many sexual-wellness and health companies are also early in their funding cycle, and 35% have raised no institutional capital.

Amount of Capital Raised: In terms of capital raised, there is published information for only 48% of companies. Of those, almost 80% have raised less than $5m in funding to date.

Investors: There several investors that have made more than a single investment in SexTech. A few of these repeat investors include: Backstage Capital, SoGal Ventures, SOSV, Techstars, and XFactor Ventures.

SexTech Business-Model Trends:

Social Impact: Only 2% have some social impact lens on their company,
Natural/Reusable: In the SexTech sector, 10% of companies have a natural/organic or reusable component to them.
Education: About 9% of SexTech companies involve sex education.
Pornography Alternatives: While MindGeek (giant parent company of the majority of porn companies) has been growing astronomically since its founding in 2004 (currently estimated ~115m DAU), there are many people of all genders searching for alternatives to traditional pornography (e.g. erotic audio stories, sensual music, video community building). While I could write a lengthy article about the influence of traditional pornography on society, there are merits to the environment it creates for personal or interpersonal physical pleasure. There are at least seven companies globally creating “Pornography Alternatives”; examples include Dipsea, MakeLoveNotPorn, OnlyFans, and Femtasy.

RelationshipTech Market

RelationshipTech Market Map:

RelationshipTech includes apps that are geared towards happier emotional relationships with and healthier interaction between intimate partners. Examples include apps like HelloRelish, LoveNudge, and Honeydue. HelloRelish helps couples build and maintain healthy relationships through text-based coaching and customized plans. Love Nudge was created by Dr. Gary Chapman, author of 5 Love Languages, to help couples express their love in a more impactful way by understanding how each partner prefers to receive love and affection, and setting goals to fulfill the other’s needs. Honeydue helps partners manage their finances together by linking bank accounts, coordinating bills, and tracking spending (an interpersonal take on FinTech, if you will).

Right now, a lot of information about interpersonal/relationship health lives in books such as Attached, 5 Love Languages, and Mating in Captivity, and in discussions between therapists and their clients. However, I think that there is a huge void crying out for entrepreneurs to move critical therapy, self-discovery, and awareness/education into the “new age.”

For Millennials and Gen Zers in particular, there have been some studies done to analyze the effect of dating apps on relationship survival. One research paper showed that dating apps (the primary method of dating for many young adults) can create the “paradox of choice”, which can lead to dissatisfaction (when there are options, there is an escalation of expectations), imagining other “perfect” relationships, and regrettably eschewing the current relationship. Relationship tech innovation aimed at Millennials and Gen-Zers could be a particularly exciting space.

The sample size is too small here (n=20) to provide more detail on the sector.

FamTech Market

FamTech Market Map:

FamTech is the space that incorporates the whole family experience. Examples include fertility options, whether for heterosexual partners (addressing both male and female fertility) or “non-traditional family units” (e.g. more than two partners, LGBTQ+), parenting apps intended to track early childhood progress (not specifically geared towards mothers), fertility financing, and insurance/employer-benefits options for these items.

The sample size is also too small here (n=33) and more market analysis is required to draw significant conclusions. Importantly, FamTech is targeting the changing family unit and incorporating additional family members past the female in all aspects of family building — from conceiving to parenting.

This article is part of a series of posts, found here.

Want to discuss the space with me directly? Please reach out.