Women Who Tech announce 10 finalists

Women Who Tech announced the 10 finalists for the European-leg of its flagship Women Startup Challenge. The HealthTech startups will pitch their ventures to top investors and compete for an equity-free $50,000 cash grant on 7th October at Paris City Hall, Hôtel de Ville.

"By 2040, $25 trillion will be spent annually on healthcare, yet only 9.7% of investor funding goes to women-led HealthTech startups. The Women Startup Challenge is fostering a culture and inclusive economy to accelerate women founders who are developing solutions to the biggest health problems, directly impacting people's lives," said Allyson Kapin, Founder of Women Who Tech. "The reality is that the playing field for women isn't level when it comes to investor funding, and we intend to tackle this gap head on by providing these founders access to capital, resources, and a top-tier investor network."

The 2019 Women Startup Challenge Europe HealthTech Finalists include:

• Arthronica - London, England: A SaaS platform to remotely diagnose arthritis using laptop/smartphone cameras combined with AI-powered software. They provide rapid access to data on illness progression to optimize patient recovery pathways.
   
• Blazar - Paris, France: A platform to help oncologists and researchers predict patient responses to cancer immunotherapy treatments so people living with cancer can fight it more effectively.
   
• Cardiomo -  NYC, United States: An AI-based solution in cardiac patient monitoring. This wearable device and analytic system remotely monitors patient vitals using biosensors and AI to detect cardiac events with 99.63% accuracy, providing life-saving alerts.
   
• Cyprio - Paris, France: Redefining 3D cell culture, Cyprio developed the "BioPearl technology", a breakthrough in tissue engineering allowing the fabrication of 3D cellular models of human livers to provide better predictive research tools for drug efficacy and toxicity screening.
   
• Eva - London, England: Developed a health app that helps people manage the effects of menopause combining behavioural science, symptom tracking, and personalized health insights.
   
• FORTË - NYC, United States: A platform that provides access to boutique fitness studio classes coached by leading health and fitness experts worldwide. Both a technology and subscription-based streaming platform, FORTË installs hardware and software into studios, which enables the classes to be streamed live daily.
   
• Luma Womb - Paris, France: Harnessing low-level light therapy to increase fertility. Luma Womb's patent-pending medical device helps solve infertility issues related to thin uterine lining by using photobiomodulation to regenerate it.
   
• Meds²Go - Noordwijk, the Netherlands: Developed innovative and stylish cooling containers for people who rely on temperature-sensitive medicines. By extending the travel time (without charging) and measuring the temperature, the container gives people the freedom and security to travel.
   
• uFraction8 - Falkirk, Scotland: Develops novel filters to help bio-manufacturers, who grow biological cells (yeast, bacteria, micro-algae, mammalian cells) for products (food and drink, feed, bio-chemicals, medicines), to harvest cells with sustainable and scalable technology outcompeting conventional filters and centrifuges.
   
• Wellola - Dublin, Ireland: A SasS platform that's revolutionizing how clinics care for and communicate with patients. Wellola's white-label platform provides clinics with the technology to conduct patients' secure e-visits and has built-in messaging systems, online payment processing, and more.
   
• Startups will pitch their ventures to esteemed investors and global health leaders Sarah Fisher, Senior Director, Global Markets, External Innovation, Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices at Johnson & Johnson; Jean-Louis Missika, Deputy Mayor of Paris; and Eamonn Carey, Managing Director of Techstars London.

"We need to raise awareness around the importance of investing in women-led HealthTech startups," said Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist and Craig Newmark Philanthropies, and a member of the Advisory Board for Women Who Tech. "It's crucial we have people with diverse backgrounds solving the industry's biggest problems, which is why programs such as the Women Startup Challenge are so important."

"There's still a long way to go to reach equality in investment for women-led startups. These 10 finalists demonstrate the progress we desperately need to bring to the healthcare industry," said Sarah Fisher, Senior Director, Global Markets, External Innovation, Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices at Johnson & Johnson.

Apart from the equity-free $50,000 grant the winner will receive, Women Who Tech will provide fundraising pitch coaching and investor mentoring to the 10 women-led HealthTech startups that are working to improve lives and champion greater healthcare solutions globally.

Women Startup Challenge Europe HealthTech received 250+ entries, of which 50% were comprised of women of colour and of diverse nationalities.

The Women Startup Challenge is supported by Craig Newmark Philanthropies, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS, Office of the Mayor of Paris, Rad Campaign, Donna Griffit Storyteller, and more.