Daya Ventures’ community funding round hit its €250,000 target in just six hours – here’s what they’re building that attracted 150+ investors including unicorn backers.
Daya Ventures has quietly built something unusual in women’s health: 16 portfolio companies in two years, backed by a community of 700 experts. When they opened their funding round last week, the response was immediate – €250,000 raised in six hours, now over 130% funded with investors including those who’ve backed unicorns like Nothing and Lovable.
They saw opportunity and started building in this space. But this isn’t just another women’s health success story. It’s a glimpse into how innovation in this space might actually work when you start from scratch.
Starting with Problems, Not Products
“The space is far too big for one company to serve all the needs,” says Malin Frithiofsson, Daya’s co-founder and CEO. “We knew that from the beginning.”
Instead of the typical founder-with-an-idea model, Daya runs two-month interventions on specific health problems. Doctors, researchers, engineers, and patients work together in the same room, using speculative design to imagine solutions without worrying about feasibility – yet.
From each intervention, about five ideas emerge. Half don’t make it through evidence review – Daya won’t proceed without clinical backing. Those that pass become companies.
This process has already produced four companies with products on market generating revenue, with several more in beta testing.
Lera Health started as a direct-to-consumer company but pivoted to become infrastructure. “They’ve created protocols that can deliver actionable functional medicine insights across whole-body health,” Frithiofsson explains. “Now they can power existing consumer-facing companies with more accurate support.” They’re closing $1.7 million.
TrialMe addresses why only 26% of phase one clinical trial participants are women. Their platform lets women learn about their health through participation data while making it economically viable for companies to recruit female participants. First recruitment launches in January.
Omaia came from an intervention on birth injuries where they discovered something unexpected: Birth fear directly affects medical outcomes. Fear hormones can actually stop contractions for hours, cascading into more interventions and higher rates of postpartum depression. Their digital CBT program reduces complications by 30%.
Daya Cosmetics tackles the fact that 90% of women experience skin changes during pregnancy, yet few skincare brands address these specific needs with safe, science-backed formulations. Their Multi Glow Serum, now available, exemplifies their minimalist approach – just two ingredients that deliver performance while ensuring safety during pregnancy.
Following the Money Backwards
Perhaps Daya’s sharpest insight is understanding who pays in healthcare – and finding the model that makes each solution sustainable.
“We always look for alternative payer models beyond direct-to-consumer,” Frithiofsson explains. For their occupational health focus, that means insurance companies. When musculoskeletal issues emerged as Europe’s second-largest insurance payout – with women overrepresented – they saw opportunity.
The math is compelling: If Daya’s solutions reduce complications, insurers save money. “You’re not asking them to buy something new. You’re showing them how to reduce costs they’re already paying.”
But the approach varies by problem. Some solutions work as direct-to-consumer, while others tap into existing healthcare budgets. The principle remains the same: Find the most sustainable path to get solutions to women who need them.
Each Daya startup involves roughly 60 people in its creation. Doctors who join ideation sessions commit to testing solutions. Patient groups validate problems. Engineers build prototypes.
“Doctors tell us it’s therapeutic,” notes Frithiofsson. “They see systemic problems daily but can’t address root causes in their practice. Here, they can bring expertise to teams building real solutions.”
This isn’t just feel-good collaboration though. It’s risk mitigation. By the time a Daya company launches, it already has clinics signed up to test, communities ready to use it, and evidence backing its approach.
Building at Scale
The rapid community round fundraising reflects growing interest in alternative models for women’s health innovation. The round has attracted sophisticated investors – Dora Palfi (Andreessen Horowitz scout, Lovable investor) and Susana Meza Graham (Nothing investor) joined at the same terms as non-professional backers, signaling confidence in Daya’s approach.
“What’s better validation – VCs investing someone else’s money, or the women who will use these products investing their own money?” Frithiofsson asks.
Daya maintains steady expansion: three problem interventions yearly, building four companies in-house while accelerating four to six external startups. Next up are autoimmune disease and occupational health.
“Brain health will be a significant focus area as well,” says Frithiofsson, citing emerging research on gender differences in neurological conditions.
Two of their newest companies – just months old – already made Web Summit’s Alpha program and Slush semi-finals, suggesting the model produces ventures that resonate beyond the women’s health niche.
A Different Thesis for Women’s Health
For those watching the space, Daya offers a different thesis: that women’s health innovation doesn’t need to chase traditional VC validation. It needs to solve real problems with sustainable business models, backed by the communities it serves.
With 700 experts contributing expertise and 150+ investors providing capital, they might just be onto something.
Daya Ventures’ community round is open for investment via Seedrs (https://europe.republic.com/daya-ventures). Seedrs Europe Ltd, trading as Seedrs and Seedrs EU, is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
