Maven, women and family health startup, has raised $90 million in a new funding round in a difficult venture funding environment. The round, which was led by General Catalyst and included CVS Health Ventures, Intermountain Healthcare’s VC arm, and European venture firm La Famiglia, brings Maven’s total funding to $300 million. Maven achieved unicorn status in a $110 million round last August, just as the tech sector hit rock bottom. While the tech downturn is causing some startups to reduce their funding rounds, Maven founder and CEO Kate Ryder stated in a blog post that the latest deal increased the company’s valuation, albeit slightly, to $1.35 billion.
Maven has benefited from increased attention to women’s health, especially since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Ryder recently told CNBC that the SCOTUS decision resulted in a 67% month-over-month increase in opportunities from companies looking for travel benefits as well as other healthcare support for pregnant women.
“Because we were in the market and had access to a platform, we were able to jump up and step up with our products,” Ryder said at the recent CNBC Work Summit. Maven Clinic has seen an increase in demand for its products over the last two years, despite a pandemic and a tight labor market, which she attributes to the accessibility of its virtual platform and its outspoken support of health equity.
“The overturning of Roe v. Wade created additional inequities in an already inequitable system, in a country where 50% of counties lack an OB-GYN and maternal mortality rates exceed those of all other developed countries,” she wrote in the blog post.
Maven now has 15 million members, a fivefold increase over last year, across its 450+ corporate clients and payers (insurance companies) in over 175 countries, and the platform supports over 30 provider specialties in 30 provider languages. Maven Clinic was ranked 19th on the CNBC Disruptor 50 list for 2022.
Microsoft and L’Oreal are among Maven’s clients. Oprah Winfrey, Mindy Kaling, Natalie Portman, and Reese Witherspoon have all participated in previous fundraising rounds. Ryder has previously stated that her desire to create Maven was motivated in part by her own medical frustration and trauma. A miscarriage left her “lost, discouraged, and perplexed as to why something so painful and physically taxing was considered outside the bounds of traditional healthcare,” she wrote on her blog.
Ryder stated that with the new funding, the company must be careful about how it scales, but will not be conservative with the cash given the need to invest in growth opportunities despite the current economic environment. “We’re not saving this money for a rainy day,” she wrote on Monday.
Maven is prioritizing global family benefits growth and Medicaid expansion with the new funding. The family benefits will build on Covid’s virtual platform and include new features for Maven Wallet, the company’s financial reimbursement platform. Additional Medicaid expansion necessitates “a more localized approach that must be more deliberate,” according to Ryder, “but the need has never been greater, particularly in the aftermath of Roe.”
