Women are driving explosive growth in the wearables sector. | Unsplash photo
What you probably already know: Smart ring maker Oura just raised a staggering $900 million and is now valued at $11 billion. AI-driven health company IdentifyHer, based in New York City, just launched Peri, a product it calls the world’s first wearable that can detect and interpret perimenopause symptoms. Lumia just raised $7 million and launched Lumia 2 smart earrings that can track blood flow to your head, “giving anyone instant insight into how blood flow affects energy, focus and mental clarity.” The women’s health devices market is exploding both in the United States and across the globe, with new products and fresh funding rounds announced on a weekly basis.
Why it matters: These gender-inclusive designs represent a major historical shift, as most personal digital health devices have been centered around men. Research firm SNS Insider predicts the global women’s health devices market will skyrocket to $119 billion by 2032, including $44 billion in the U.S. alone, “driven by strong regulatory projects, advanced health care infrastructure, and government initiatives to promote women’s health technologies.” Major companies including GE HealthCare Technologies, Abbot Laboratories and Garmin are driving the market, but dozens upon dozens of numerous smaller players are releasing innovative products around reproductive health, fertility and pregnancy monitoring, menopause and perimenopause and cardiovascular health.
What it means: Women are reshaping the market by insisting on fashion as well as functionality, with an emphasis on inclusivity and accessibility. Boston-based Lumia, for instance, says its smart earrings are “indistinguishable from fine jewelry,” noting that they can be worn as huggie hoops, cuffs or studs in gold, silver and clear finishes. Bellabeat, a San Francisco women’s wellness company, offers a range of trackers with jewelry-based designs, including those for exercise, stress and reproductive health. Boston-based wearable tech company WHOOP offers decorative smart apparel that integrates its trackers into workout attire, including sports bras and arm sleeves. OURA is perhaps the gold standard, having sold more than 5.5 million fashionable ring devices in the past 10 years that cover a range of women’s health metrics.
What happens next: Women are increasingly advocating for health autonomy, demanding data about their own bodies rather than depending on clinicians, and are more likely to use health care wearables compared to men. The WomenTech Network notes that women are “driving innovation, market expansion and user-centric designs,” adding that “women have been instrumental in developing wearables that monitor health and wellness.” As IdentifyHer CEO and cofounder Heidi Davis says, “We are pioneering a new era of women’s health care, one where women are in control of their health and equipped to manage the symptoms that shape how we feel physically, mentally and emotionally.”
