Tech-enabled maternity clinic Millie has raised $12 million in series A funding.

The round was co-led by TMV and Foreground Capital with participation from Pivotal Ventures and the March of Dimes Innovation Fund.

Current investors also participated in the round, including Ingeborg Investments, BBG Ventures, Joyance, LearnStart, Amboy Street Ventures, Mother Ventures, Coyote Ventures and Chai Ventures.

The funds will be used to expand the company's technology platform and open in new market locations. Millie plans to open new clinics in 2025, with first being in San Jose, California.

The flagship Berkeley, California, location will also be expanding its gynecology and wraparound care offerings. 

Anu Sharma, founder and CEO of Millie, told MobiHealthNews that it was harder to raise capital this time around compared with when the company launched in 2022 due in part to the state of the capital markets that year and the fact that it was a very "frothy" market with zero interest rates in a post-COVID environment.

"It was a time where a lot of companies were raising capital relatively quickly and on very favorable terms," Sharma told MobiHealthNews.

Millie launched with $4 million in a seed funding round led by TMV Ventures and BBG Ventures.

"In 2023 and 2024, the capital markets were in a very different place. Interest rates were higher, the cost of capital was higher. There were just a lot of funds that were sitting on portfolio companies that were hoping to see exit, but there were no exits to be found," Sharma said. 

Millie is a maternity clinic that distinguishes itself as being “built by moms and care providers."

The clinic takes a 360-degree, patient-centered care approach that utilizes collaborative OB/GYN and midwife support and clinical best practices to guide people from conception through prenatal care, labor and delivery, and the postpartum period.

Sharma noted there are more companies in women's health and more types of companies since Millie's last funding initiative as a startup.

"It's a large underserved space. We are seeing more players come in. Not everyone is in maternal health. We are seeing a lot more going on in the realm of menopause care," Sharma said.

She stated that Millie uses technology to provide more continuous monitoring of care, and that includes telehealth and an app.

THE LARGER TREND

When asked to forecast AI's place in healthcare in 2025 for MobiHealthNews' 2024 year in review series, Sharma said she anticipates that AI will "continue to gain prominence in healthcare – in AI-driven SaaS models and in the continued tech-enablement of payor and provider operations."  

Sharma noted that the applications are endless, and on the payor side she expects to see more AI used in actuarial risk analyses, claims adjudication and back-office processes including eligibility checks, prior authorization and member service call centers.

On the provider side, she envisions AI playing a continued role in extending current provider capacity through clinical decision support, ambient charting, inbox management and streamlined care operations. 

"In maternal health, with acute OB/GYN shortages, this is especially powerful in keeping care accessible as the incidence of maternity 'care deserts' continues to rise," Sharma said. 

In 2023, maternity-focused digital health company Diana Health secured $34 million in Series B funding led by Norwest Ventures Partners, bringing its total raise to $46 million. LRVHealth and .406 Ventures participated in the round, along with AlleyCorp. 

Diana partners with hospitals and health systems to offer tech-enabled OB/GYN and women's health services, including mental healthcare, preconception and family planning, annual well woman visits, wellness coaching, and virtual and in-person classes and events. 

The company also deploys care teams, including mental health and wellness providers, OB/GYNs and certified nurse midwives. The company used the Series B investment to expand its reach nationally and grow its platform and offerings.

That same year, MedArrive, a care management platform merging telehealth and in-person care, partnered with Ouma Health, a maternity telehealth platform, to expand its mother and fetal in-home care offerings to women on Medicaid. 

Ouma offers maternal health care services, including prenatal and postpartum visits, perinatal risk stratification and mitigation counseling, behavioral health screenings and counseling, remote patient monitoring, chronic care management and lactation support.