RH Capital has just closed their oversubscribed second fund, bringing total assets under management to over $40 million to tackle reproductive and maternal health equity. In 2019, RH Capital raised a small proof of concept fund with around $5M and has now closed fund II with an additional $38.5M. The fund’s lead investors include Tara Health Foundation, Skoll Foundation, The Impact Seat Foundation, Houssian Foundation, Argosy Foundation and The Case for Her.
RH Capital is a female-led impact venture capital firm investing in women’s health innovations that improve access, affordability, choice, and health outcomes in the US and globally. Its primary areas of focus are contraception and maternal health, in addition to investing across women’s health more broadly. At the core of RH Capital’s investment strategy is an unwavering commitment to health equity and a belief that reproductive and maternal health care are essential health care.
“Now, more than ever, is the time to invest in new science and disruptive technologies that can address the vast unmet needs in women’s health,” said Stasia Obremskey, Managing Director of RH Capital. “Since the Dobbs decision, we have doubled down on our investment strategy in pregnancy prevention and improving maternal health outcomes, and we’ve seen investor interest skyrocket.” The fund raised an additional $10M in the immediate aftermath of the SCOTUS decision in June.
To date, RH Capital has invested in fifteen portfolio companies, including Ovia Health which was acquired by LabCorp in 2021, Nurx which merged with Thirty Madison in 2022, and Cirqle Biomedical, which just announced an exclusive licensing deal with Organon. The fund invests across the healthcare spectrum, from biotech and medical devices to digital health and services, with a particular focus on underserved and marginalized populations (Medicaid, BIPOC, rural, etc.) to significantly reduce health disparities in those communities.
“Women’s health has been an underinvested area for far too long,” said Dr. Ruth Shaber, Founder and President of the Tara Health Foundation, an anchor limited partner in the fund. “We know we need more women’s voices in venture capital, in leading startups and in driving health innovation, and RH Capital is making a difference across all three.”
RH Capital is a fund of Rhia Ventures, a non-profit whose mission is to leverage capital to affect positive change in reproductive and maternal health by supporting investors, entrepreneurs and community-based stakeholders. “Rhia and RH Capital are working together,” said Erika Seth Davies, CEO of Rhia Ventures, “to develop a thriving ecosystem that supports innovation and drives health equity for women and birthing people, especially in the most vulnerable populations.”
“Venture capital is such a powerful engine of innovation,” said Elizabeth Bailey, Managing Director of RH Capital, “And we’re finally harnessing it for women’s health. Given the increasingly regressive policies of government, private sector innovation will be essential to ensure a brighter future for women’s health.”
