Celebrities, CEOs, and Sports Stars Raise $5 Million for Menopause Care Startup Midi Health

Good morning, Broadsheet readers! All 23andMe board members have resigned, Anne Wojcicki is expected to become the new European antitrust chief, and Midi Health is raising $5 million from a group of 80 female investors from across industries. Have a great Thursday!

– Care in middle age. Comedian Amy Schumer, actress Connie Britton, and executives from OpenAI, Meta, and Uber are among a slew of new investors in a $5 million fundraising round for Midi Health, a virtual healthcare provider for midlife women that has raised $103 million in total funding. The common thread that connects them all is the need for and interest in menopause care.

“(P)ormost of us in this fund who are investors are over 40, most of us have kids, 90% of us are women, and 100% of that 90% will go through menopause,” says Mallun Yen, founder and managing partner of Operator Collective, who organized the 80-investor SPV for Midi’s latest round. “I knew this was going to be a big space and opportunity.”

Other investors include former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg, designer Tory Burch, Waymo Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana, OpenAI VP of Finance Janine Korovesis, Phenomenal Media Founder and CEO Meena Harris, Permira Senior Advisor Carolyn Everson, soccer star Brandi Chastain, former Meta VP of Media Partnerships Campbell Brown, and more.

Individual checks ranged from $10,000 to more than $500,000. While startups often hire celebrities and high-profile individuals as angel investors, Yen wanted to make it easier for Midi to do it at scale. “It would be very difficult and time-consuming for a company to try to do it on its own,” Yen says. (Editor’s Note: Yen is a guest co-chair FortuneMPW Summit 2024.) She first started to explore the idea of ​​a special purpose vehicle back in Midi’s seed round in 2022. It is the largest company ever created by Operator Collective, a venture capital fund that primarily invests in B2B and enterprise companies.

Joanna Strober, 56, founded Midi in 2021. In her early 40s, she experienced anxiety, insomnia, and hot flashes as symptoms of perimenopause, but understanding her symptoms took multiple doctor visits — and a lot more effort than she felt was appropriate.

Midi’s virtual, insurance-covered care means women don’t have to spend the time and money Strober spent looking for solutions. Its more than 200 providers are trained in all aspects of women’s health, especially hormones, which are used in many treatment plans.

The company raised $14 million in seed funding in 2022, co-led by Felicis and SemperViren. Midi then raised $25 million in Series A funding in 2023, led by Google Ventures, and $63 million (including SPV) in Series B funding this year, led by Emerson Collective.

“(W)omen need to invest in companies that they want to exist in the world,” Strober says. “It’s very affirming that (women) not only come in as patients, but they invest in us.”

The company stands out in a crowded category, Yen said, because its business model is scalable, the care is covered by insurance and the company has relationships with health systems.

Looking ahead, Strober’s goal for Midi is to provide care to 1 million women a year. The company currently serves 100,000 people. She also wants to continue to break down stigma, including ageism and discrimination, around menopause. “For me, fighting it isn’t about saying, ‘Oh, we need to make things easier for women.’ It’s about telling them that there’s treatment and that you have to name it,” Strober says.

Nina Ajemian
[email protected]

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This story was originally published on Fortune.com