Muse Capital, the early-stage VC firm focused on consumer technology, has launched The Optima Program – a health and performance platform that delivers women’s health innovations directly to elite female athletes and sports executives. The program launched in partnership with the Red Bull Italy SailGP Team and is being offered to athletes and executives across the SailGP league, with conversations underway to expand to additional global women’s sports leagues.
The roster of companies providing the technology behind Optima reads like a who’s who of the women’s health startup ecosystem: Midi Health (longevity), Cofertility (fertility), Eli Health (hormone health), BeSound (advanced breast imaging), Mavida Health (maternal and mental health), Beekeeper’s Naturals (wellness), Sequel (performance tampon technology), Hugh & Grace (hormone-supportive personal care), SISTERLY (supplements), and Mahmee (doula and postpartum care).
“For too long, the sports industry has applied a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to performance that ignores the biological uniqueness of women,” said Muse Capital co-founder Assia Grazioli-Venier. “With Optima, we are moving beyond research and into immediate action. We are providing women in sport with the validated, high-quality, science-backed solutions they deserve to optimize their health, their careers, and their longevity.”
The program comes at a moment when women’s professional sports revenue is growing 4.5 times faster than men’s, yet female athletes remain underserved by sports science. Muse Capital’s portfolio includes several of the companies participating in Optima – the firm backed Midi Health (which recently reached unicorn status at a $1 billion valuation), Eli Health, Cofertility, BeSound, and Mavida Health, among others.
“Cortisol imbalances – driven by intense training loads, inadequate recovery, and chronic stress – have measurable consequences for athletic performance, injury risk, and hormone health,” said Eli Health co-founder and CEO Marina Pavlovic Rivas. “Joining the Optima Program is an incredible opportunity for Eli to deliver real-time cortisol insights directly to the elite female athletes who need them.”
Muse Capital’s sports arm, Muse Sport, backs multiple properties in professional sport including the Washington Spirit, the Women’s Professional Baseball League, and the Red Bull SailGP Italia Team – the first female-led ownership group in SailGP.
