Breast Pump startup, Willow acquires Elvie’s assets as UK women’s health pioneers

Women’s health and newly established companies that create connected breast, period monitoring pumps and other applications and material designed for women have collectively raised more than $ 5 billion in funding over the past five years, but the market is tight and now two of the trailblazers are coming together,

WillowThe start of San Francisco who made his name with portable breast pumps acquires Elviwhich started with a smart Kegel trainer before expanding to other products for new mothers, including his own breast pumps and more recently, a bassinet.

The terms of the agreement have not been revealed, but we understand that it is coming as Elvie enters the administration. London’s start has increased more than $ 186 million over the last 12 years with investors, including Octopus Ventures, BlackRock and Blume Equity, among others. His latest valuation was $ 241 million per data from the Pitchbook.

Companies have been chatting for some time after Willow approached Elvie to buy it. But as the talks went on, Elvie also approached the end of his corridor.

“The transaction is shaped after many months of alternative expectations,” Willow CEO Sarah O’Leary said in an interview.

We understand that Willow undertakes the existing business, including its products and its team. There are currently 170 people who work throughout London and Bristol, though some of them are already processing their notice periods and will not come to Willow.

For its part, Willow has raised about $ 254 million in combination of stock and debt with investors, including NEA and Meritech teams. Its appreciation per Pitchbook had increased by up to $ 256 million in 2021 (a high watermark for business capital funding in general), but had decreased in 2024 when the company increased a combination of stock and debt.

O’Leary, who entered the role of CEO in late 2023, refused to comment on her current valuation, but said the company may try to increase more later this year.

Elvie’s advice on bankruptcy talks about some of the wider challenges in the women’s health world, which is estimated to be a $ 60 billion market this year, but has faced many moving. The market has continued to be provocative for newly formed businesses in 2021, especially those that are almost exclusively focused on AI. There are not many exit opportunities for women’s health businesses right now. In addition, as O’Leary points out, the market (which sees that the amount of $ 60 billion, no doubt) has been flooded with a wealth of cheaper products.

The recent drama with the 23ndme also highlights some of the big issues by managing users, especially health data, when things go wrong with the business. And this is perhaps even more so with women’s health and breeding businesses in today’s political climate.

And, as always, the material – or at least the ability to turn the newly established businesses into profitable businesses – remains tough.

Willow’s hope is that the acquisition of Elvie marks the launch of a wider integration and efforts of Willow to build a broader platform: If the output opportunities are few and far away, then make your own platform and become the unification.

Women’s health as a category has really emerged over the years, as has been done, thanks to the cloud, smartphones and innovations in large data analyzes, easier to build applications to get market and original hardcopying of the crowdfunding platforms to measure consumer interest. These products also came from a more authorized demographic technology required to meet their own needs. Now Willow’s challenge – and the opportunity – will be to see if it can turn it into a profit over time.

“We want to show that FemTech products are not only big stories but also big businesses,” he said.