We’re Expecting: Fertility Tech is Having a Moment

Fertility tech is trending.

Maybe baby. Amidst social and economic uncertainty, millennials and Gen Z are delaying family planning.

• Last year, birth rates plunged 4% to record lows as Americans put off baby-having, citing job/income concerns along with the rising expense of having kids.
• The average age of first-time mothers has shot up five years, from 21 to 26 as more women look to build their careers before becoming a mom.

But, as more and more couples put baby-making on the backburner, prospective parents are facing a new challenge — today, over one in eight couples in the US are affected by infertility.

As sperm counts plummet and infertility increases, experts project the fertility industry could clear $41B by 2026. Attracting attention, startups raked in $345M last year, up 35% from 2020.

• Male fertility startup Legacy, which offers at-home sperm testing, semen analysis, and sperm freezing, added a $25M Series B, notching a $45M valuation.
• DTC giant Ro acquired sperm-testing startup Dadi for about $100M, rebranding it as Ro Sperm Kit, to be distributed via Modern Fertility — which it also snapped up last year.
• Women’s healthcare company Tia announced its foray into fertility, taking a preventative approach via testing, assessments, and therapy/support groups.

Shifting clinical services like diagnostics and counseling to the home, Oova, Hannah Life Technologies, and Frame Fertility are scaling up.

Up next, Benefits like sperm and egg freezing, fertility tracking, and in vitro fertilization (IVF) are becoming table stakes for employers.

Looking ahead: Across the industry, digital health is reimagining care from the inside out. Offering convenience, abundance, and freedom of choice, fertility tech startups seem to be making a dent — US births increased in 2021 for the first time since 2014.