Women’s Health Startup Evvy Secures $40 Million to Expand Microbiome Data and Fertility Research

Evvy, a pioneer in the women’s health technology space, announced on Tuesday that it has successfully raised $40 million in a Series B funding round. The investment was led by Catalio Capital Management, marking a significant milestone for the company as it looks to scale its operations and deepen its research into the female microbiome. Since its inception in 2021, Evvy has been driven by the ambition to bridge the gender data gap in medicine, focusing specifically on the vaginal microbiome and its role in long-term health outcomes.

Founded by Priyanka Jain, Laine Bruzek, and Pita Navarro, Evvy gained early traction by introducing what it claims is the world’s only at-home, CLIA-certified and CLEP-certified metagenomic sequencing (mNGS) test. This diagnostic tool allows patients to analyze their vaginal microbiome via a simple, single-swab collection process. By mailing samples to Evvy’s specialized lab, users can access sophisticated molecular data that was previously inaccessible to the average consumer. Once the lab processes the samples using proprietary mNGS technology, the results are reviewed by clinicians registered on the Evvy platform and subsequently made available to the patient through a secure, comprehensive health portal.

The value proposition of the company centers on translating complex biological data into actionable clinical insights. According to CEO and co-founder Priyanka Jain, the patient experience is designed to be holistic rather than purely diagnostic. “When a patient receives their results, they are presented alongside a diagnosis, clinical interpretation, and a clear path of next steps, including personalized prescription care when relevant,” Jain told TechCrunch. This integrated approach ensures that patients are not left to interpret complicated laboratory data on their own, but are instead guided by professional medical advice.

The scale of the company’s growth since its 2021 launch reflects a burgeoning market demand for personalized health solutions. Evvy currently reports serving more than 100,000 patients across the United States, supported by a network of 3,000 practitioners. Beyond clinical services, the company has established a strong research footprint, having generated 15 peer-reviewed publications and abstracts. These efforts have already yielded tangible results in the scientific community, including the identification of novel bacterial vaginosis (BV) subtypes and the discovery of hundreds of vaginal microbiome genomes that had never been catalogued before.

While clinical care for individual patients remains a primary revenue driver, the company’s long-term vision is far more expansive. Evvy is strategically building a massive, proprietary dataset that links microbiome biology, symptomatic patterns, medical interventions, and health outcomes. Jain describes this as a "continuous feedback loop" designed to uncover new biomarkers and improve standard care protocols. This focus on data-driven discovery is positioned as a direct response to the historical shortcomings of medical research, which has frequently relied on male-centric datasets.

The fundamental issue, according to Jain, is that the foundations of modern precision medicine are often built on datasets that fail to adequately represent female biology. This oversight has profound implications, particularly as artificial intelligence begins to play a larger role in healthcare. Jain noted that many leading AI models struggle to provide accurate or nuanced guidance on women’s health simply because they lack the underlying data necessary to understand it.

"You can’t build precision medicine for women on datasets that never adequately measured female biology in the first place," Jain said. She emphasized that the future of AI in this sector depends on pairing sophisticated algorithms with high-quality, large-scale biological data. By aggregating data across molecular signals, hormones, symptoms, and fertility outcomes, Evvy hopes to identify patterns that have historically eluded traditional diagnostic methods.

To support this goal, the company introduced an AI assistant, EvvyAI, in May. This tool acts as a digital advisor for vaginal health, translating the vast amount of microbiome data collected by the company into real-time, personalized guidance for users. By providing immediate feedback, the AI can assist in day-to-day health management while directing users to human clinicians when complex medical questions or professional interpretations are required.

The new funding comes as Evvy prepares for its first significant expansion beyond its core vaginal health testing. Leveraging the same philosophy that success in health outcomes can be predicted by monitoring the vaginal biome, the company is now entering the fertility space. This move represents a strategic pivot toward addressing some of the most challenging issues in women’s reproductive medicine. Currently, the company is working to build a scientific foundation that links vaginal microbiome health to clinical outcomes such as infertility, gynecological cancers, preterm birth, IVF success rates, and the risk of recurrent pregnancy loss. To advance this research, the company launched a prospective study last year that integrates its vaginal microbiome testing directly into IVF clinics.

The overarching mission for the leadership team is to eliminate the concept of "unexplained" health issues in women’s medicine. Jain argues that when patients are told they have "unexplained" infertility or "unexplained" recurring symptoms, it is often a sign that medical research has simply not yet caught up to the reality of the patient’s biology. "Women shouldn’t have to accept unexplained infertility, unexplained recurrence, or unexplained symptoms as answers when what they often mean is that medicine hasn’t caught up to the data yet," Jain remarked.

Evvy is not alone in its efforts to transform this space; the rise of the "femtech" sector has seen other notable entrants such as Juno Bio, Tiny Health, and Daye, each approaching the vaginal microbiome from different scientific and service-oriented angles. However, Evvy’s aggressive focus on research and clinical integration differentiates its roadmap.

Looking toward the future, Jain envisions the evolution of the traditional Pap smear. She sees a future where an at-home, non-invasive sample can provide women with routine, data-rich insights that go far beyond basic screenings. Such a test could eventually offer longitudinal data on a wide array of health markers, including inflammation, PCOS, endometriosis, premenopause, and the progression of HPV.

By empowering patients to take an active role in their own health data collection, the company believes it can accelerate the pace of medical discovery. For Jain and her team, the goal is not to wait for the traditional medical establishment to slowly adopt new research methods, but to actively participate in building the evidence base that will force the industry to change. "I don’t think we can wait for traditional research methods to catch up," Jain concluded. "I believe women, as patients, can be part of pushing the industry forward."