Samsung Electronics Co. joined the latest funding round for Swedish fertility tracking app Natural Cycles as lead investor, seeking to introduce the female-health technology to its Galaxy series smartwatches.
(Bloomberg) — Samsung Electronics Co. joined the latest funding round for Swedish fertility tracking app Natural Cycles as lead investor, seeking to introduce the female-health technology to its Galaxy series smartwatches.
The Natural Cycles app, which monitors body temperature to gauge fertility, in 2018 became the first contraceptive of its kind to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Samsung expects to introduce the app on Galaxy Watch5 devices in the second quarter, with its investment part of a $7 million funding round for NaturalCycles Nordic AB. The company, founded by physicist Elina Berglund and her husband Raoul Scherwitzl, raised a “modest” amount as it prioritized bringing in “strategic partners” to help expand the number of measuring options, Scherwitzl said in an emailed response to questions, declining to disclose a valuation.
The app has more than two million users globally. Owners of the Oura smart ring have been able to use the app since August, and in September Apple introduced its own ovulation tracking in its Apple Watch devices.
In the US, currently its biggest and fastest-growing market, reproductive rights and privacy considerations have come into focus after the Supreme Court last year overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling on abortion access, sparking bans and restrictions on reproductive health care and concerns over privacy of sensitive data.
Natural Cycles is “well-prepared to operate in a post-Roe v. Wade” environment with strong privacy protections in place due to it being a regulated medical device, Scherwitzl said. With many contraceptives only available with a prescription, the free availability of Natural Cycles puts it in a “unique position and is why we continue to see such a high level of growth,” he said.
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