Women’s Wealth Catalyzes Growth In Women’s Health Investment

Women’s health has moved from niche to necessary. Analysts now quantify the potential, and the investor base is shifting in ways that matter, according to McKinsey:

• Closing the women’s health gap is a trillion-dollar opportunity.
• U.S. women are on track to control roughly $34 trillion—about 38%—of investable assets by 2030.
• Women’s health includes hormonal changes, fertility and IVF, sexual wellness, dementia, cardiovascular disease, and much more.

Into that tailwind, Portfolia is raising Women’s Health Fund IV, the latest in a series of focused vehicles the venture capital firm has built since launching what it described as the nation’s first women’s health-only fund in 2018.

Women’s Wealth Creates Tailwinds for Women’s Health VC

Closing the gap in women’s health could add at least $1 trillion a year to the global economy by 2040—framing women’s health as a growth thesis, not just an equity issue.

On the capital-supply side, U.S. women are projected to control about $34 trillion in investable assets by 2030, reshaping who allocates capital and how.

Women’s Health Investment Is Rising, But the Gap Is Still Stark

From 2019 to 2024, growth in venture capital investments in women’s health has taken off, increasing more than 200% over the past five years compared to the overall VC investments growth of 9%. Yet, women’s health still gets just a sliver of the pie.

Women’s health is one of the fastest-growing areas in VC, yet it remains vastly underfunded.

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High-net-worth women have powered Portfolia’s growth. They tend to be risk-astute, long-horizon investors who favor diversified funds over picking single stocks and companies, and they outpace men on actively seeking companies with strong environmental or social practices. This style of investing is well-suited to being a limited partner in a VC fund. Many start with smaller checks and step up as their confidence grows. “You see investors in a Portfolia fund for $10,000,” says founder and CEO Trish Costello. “At the same time, there are multi-million-dollar investors now in Portfolia funds.”

“When I saw the staggering statistic of women and minority-owned startups receiving less than 2% of venture capital funds I started to look for firms that were actually putting their money to work to create the change that I wanted to see,” explains Mina Kim, Entrepreneur, Portfolia investor and Host of The Klickline Podcast. “Portfolia was a clear choice. [It]

aligned with not only my values but also the legacy that I wanted to leave for future generations.”

The timing helps. As women’s wealth expands, women’s health VCs are tapping a broader LP base. Portfolia added a parallel qualified-purchaser sleeve that is “invisible” to community members (LPs) but allows more flexibility on size and investor counts than a fund targeting accredited investors. Costello expects roughly 350 investors in Fund IV, with more than half now qualified purchasers.

High-net-worth investors are vital to Portfolia and other women-health focused micro-VCs, whose domain expertise helps surface companies with real potential. Once those companies prove out—through clinical data, FDA approval, partnerships, or revenue—larger generalist funds step in at later stages.

Distribution matters, too. Private-bank and wealth-platform partnerships are steadily expanding curated access to private markets.

Policy Can Widen Access For Micro-VC LPs

The Improving Capital Allocation for Newcomers Act would raise the cap for qualifying venture funds to 2,000 investors and $150 million in assets (up from 250 investors and $10 million), making it easier for micro-VCs to accept many smaller checks. The bill has advanced out of the House Financial Services Committee.

“It is critically important to be able to activate the wealth of women in the entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem,” Costello noted. Portfolia was the first fund to take advantage when the investor cap rose to 249.

How Portfolia Evolved from Fund I to Fund IV

Portfolia helped define the category. Its first FemTech (Women’s Health) Fund closed in November 2018 with 249 investing community members and was billed as the first venture fund focused exclusively on women’s health; Fund II launched in 2020; Fund III closed in February 2024 and Fund IV in August 2025. Many of the investors are healthcare professionals.

All funds are led by veteran investors with deep women’s health expertise and a strong network across clinicians, payers, and founders. Portfolia engages its community LPs, including them in optional monthly pitch calls to question founders, hands-on diligence and voting, as well as teach-ins and events that unpack women’s health dynamics.

The opportunity map has widened from fertility, pregnancy, and menopause to conditions where women are affected disproportionately—dementia and autoimmune disease—and differently—cardiovascular and lung disease.

Women’s Health Portfolio Signals From Portfolia Funds

Costello highlights some wins from Porfolia-backed companies.

• Mirvie developed a diagnostic test that uses RNA technology to predict and prevent preeclampsia, a condition that affects about 1 in 12 pregnancies and can lead to seizures, organ failure, or even death.
• Bone Health’s Osteoboost, a pre-seed investment that moved through studies and into the market, and was identified by the FDA as the first solution for osteopenia.
• Lighthouse Pharmaceuticals targets dementia and Alzheimer’s. It recently won a $49.2 million National Institute on Aging grant to speed trials—showing the kind of evidence milestones that can drive value.

Portfolia lined up two investments before opening Fund IV so new investors would have active companies in the portfolio on day one. One of them is Gameto. It recently raised a series C round to advance Fertilo—a stem cell-based fertility treatment that uses iPSC-derived ovarian support cells to mature eggs outside the body, making the process faster, less invasive, and more accessible—through Phase 3 trials and toward regulatory approval.

“Portfolia’s model of mobilizing women investors to back companies driving change in women’s health is fully aligned with Gameto’s mission of redefining women’s and family health,” explains Dr. Dina Radenkovic Tuner, Gameto’s cofounder and CEO. “We are honored to be the first investment from Portfolia’s Women’s Health Fund IV and to have their support in advancing innovative solutions for fertility, menopause, and beyond.”

Headwinds Could Slow Women’s Health Companies

Federal support for early-stage clinical and disparities research is under pressure. In August 2025, the Supreme Court allowed the administration to terminate about $783 million in National Institute of Health grants tied to DEI programs, affecting studies that disproportionately impact women and communities of color. Meanwhile, the FY2026 budget proposes eliminating the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, and House FY2025 appropriators advanced a Labor, Health and Human Services bill that would zero out the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality—both key engines for health-disparities and health-services research.

Multiple studies show that men-specific procedures are reimbursed more than comparable women-specific care. A 2025 Journal of Women’s Health found about 30% higher rates of reimbursement for men’s procedures compared to women’s.

Investigations by the Center for Intimacy Justice and multiple news outlets show that platforms often block ads for women’s health products—even menopause and vaginal-dryness treatments—while erectile-dysfunction campaigns run with far fewer hurdles. Similar patterns appear in search ads, where women’s reproductive and sexual-health promotions face higher rejection rates, pointing to a persistent double standard.

Healthcare companies must navigate clinical trials, regulatory approvals, and reimbursement hurdles, so exits typically take longer than in other venture-backed sectors—requiring patient capital.

Healthcare VC Experts And Community LPs Turn Tailwinds Into Value

Women’s health ventures have crossed a credibility threshold. The economics are compelling, the founder and expert VC base is deep, and the investor universe is expanding as women control more wealth. Portfolia’s Women’s Health Fund IV is a test of whether a community-driven LP model led by seasoned women’s health investors can convert those tailwinds into portfolio value—by widening the funnel for LPs and backing companies that can meet clinical and commercial requirements. If it works, it will say as much about the maturation of the category as it does about one firm’s strategy.

Sources:

Ellingrud, K., Pérez, L., Petersen, A., & Sartori, V. (2024, January 17). Closing the women’s health gap: A $1 trillion opportunity to improve lives and economies. McKinsey Health Institute.

Catania, C., & Zucker, J. (2025, May 8). The new face of wealth: The rise of the female investor. McKinsey & Company.

Silicon Valley Bank. (2025). Innovation in women’s health 2025: Venture capital investment in women’s health startups reaching record highs. Silicon Valley Bank. PitchBook & National Venture Capital Association. (2025, January 14). Q4 2024 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor. National Venture Capital Association – NVCA.

Mercer Advisors. (2024, June 24). Understanding the distinction: Accredited investor versus qualified purchaser. Mercer Advisors.

Ventureneer & CoreWoman. (2022, October 4). How women (and men) invest in startups. Ventureneer. The author of this article is the President and CEO of Ventureneer.

Bank of America Institute. (2024, March 13). The rising wealth of women [PDF report]. Bank of America Institute.