Women’s Health Firm Maven Clinic Valued at $1.7 Billion

Maven Clinic, a virtual health startup aimed at women and families, has reached unicorn status.

The company announced Tuesday (Oct. 8) that it had raised $125 million in a Series F funding round, valuing the firm at $1.7 billion.

In a message posted to the Maven website, CEO Katie Ryder noted that this makes the firm the most valued digital health company serving women and families.

The chief executive said that the 10 years since Maven was founded were marked by progress and setbacks in women’s health. On one hand, the last decade has seen advances in coverage for things like IVF and maternal mental health.

“On the other hand, healthcare for many women is worse today than it was ten years ago,” Ryder added, pointing to declining access to care since Roe v Wade was overturned.

“Thirty-five percent of U.S. counties are maternity care deserts, meaning that they don’t have OB-GYNs or midwives,” she said, with this number expected to increase as rural hospitals close and doctors leave states with restricted access to care.

At the same time, research by PYMNTS Intelligence has found that women are disproportionately burdened by medical bills.

The research found that 15% of women living paycheck to paycheck pointed to medical bills as a chief reason for their financial strain, compared to just 12% of men, a disparity that spotlights the gendered nature of economic vulnerability when it comes to healthcare costs.

The situation is even worse for consumers who are struggling to keep up with monthly bills. Among this group, 23% of women say that their medical bills are a key factor in their financial troubles, while the figure for men is markedly lower at 18%.

“These statistics highlight a troubling trend: women, more than men, are disproportionately impacted by healthcare costs, which exacerbates their financial instability,” PYMNTS wrote earlier this year.

“This financial instability directly translates to the amount of care they are able to receive — after all, when someone knows that seeking further treatment is going to bury them in unpayable bills, they are unlikely to do so unless it is of the utmost necessity.”