Materna Medical, a pioneering femtech company based in Mountain View, CA, has raised $20 million in a Series B2 funding round led by InnovaHealth Partners. The round also includes backing from GLIN Impact Capital, Wealthing VC Club, Citrine Angels, Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health, Women’s Venture Capital Fund, Kimera, and Golden Seeds.

The new funds will support the nationwide expansion of Milli™, the company’s FDA-cleared, over-the-counter vaginal dilator for vaginismus, and advance the commercialization of Ellora™, its investigational device designed to protect the pelvic floor during childbirth. Formerly known as Materna Prep, Ellora™ is now entering the final phase of a multi-center randomized clinical trial (EASE) across 20+ hospitals in the U.S., with a De Novo FDA submission planned for this summer.

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Clinical Strength Meets Commercial Strategy

CEO Tracy MacNeal noted that this raise comes at a pivotal time for the company: “Ellora has now formally taken on its commercial identity, and we’re entering the final lap of clinical validation.” She emphasized that Materna’s mission spans both wellness and birth - reaching women at two of the most critical and underserved moments in their health journey.

Milli™, already available to consumers, addresses vaginismus with an adjustable, patient-controlled dilator that combines medical-grade precision with approachable design. Meanwhile, Ellora™ - once cleared - could introduce a new standard of care in labor and delivery by reducing pelvic floor injuries during vaginal birth.

But what’s most instructive for founders watching Materna’s trajectory isn’t just the product innovation. It’s the sequence.

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Strategic Sequencing That Built Momentum

Materna’s path to scale wasn’t defined by a single product breakthrough - it was shaped by deliberate sequencing. Before entering the highly regulated arena of intrapartum devices, the team launched Milli™, a consumer-friendly, over-the-counter solution that addressed a clear and underserved need. That early move not only offered immediate value to patients but also helped the company establish brand credibility, clinician trust, and early distribution infrastructure.

With that foundation in place - supported by growing market visibility and post-market data - they were able to shift focus toward Ellora™, a device with deeper clinical stakes and regulatory complexity. What looks like a product evolution is, in fact, a broader go-to-market strategy: build access first, then expand into protocol.

This progression from wellness to clinical utility created a natural on-ramp for both users and health systems, reinforcing the brand’s authority while unlocking a much larger segment of the women’s health market. It's the kind of thoughtful build that doesn't just address demand - it shapes how an entire category comes to expect care.

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Backed by VCs Betting on Long-Term Impact

InnovaHealth Partners, which led the round, has deep roots in healthcare infrastructure investments. Their continued confidence stems from Materna’s ability to balance clinical rigor with execution. Ariella Golomb, board chair and partner at InnovaHealth, highlighted the promise shown in early pilot studies of Ellora, noting its potential to materially reduce pelvic floor injury rates in vaginal deliveries.

Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health and Women’s Venture Capital Fund, both known for backing mission-driven medtech, emphasized how rare it is to see a femtech company navigate both consumer and clinical markets with such clarity.

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Scaling with Intention

Materna will use the capital to:

• Complete the EASE trial and submit Ellora for FDA clearance
  
• Expand marketing and provider education for Milli™
  
• Grow its clinical operations team to support hospital rollouts
  
• Strengthen its go-to-market and regulatory teams
  

The company’s footprint now includes over 50 employees across engineering, clinical research, regulatory affairs, and marketing - all focused on building solutions for the $25B+ pelvic health market.

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Pelvic Health as a Platform Play

While the femtech category has seen an explosion in direct-to-consumer brands, Materna is taking a platform-first approach, stitching together home care and hospital protocol into a unified pelvic health journey. With Milli™, they address an underserved but deeply personal condition. With Ellora™, they aim to change the course of maternal injury during birth.

And because they’ve earned the trust of both patients and providers, they’re positioned not just as a product company - but as a standard-setter.