Period tracking firm Flo Health has closed a $50m series B funding round, bringing the total capital raised to $65m and the company valuation to $800m.

As the most downloaded health app in AppStore in 2020, Flo will use the funding to enhance personalisation and provide users with cycle insights and symptom patterns to help them effectively manage and proactively improve their overall health.

“Too often, people encounter misinformation when searching on the internet for signs and symptoms of conditions, especially when it comes to taboo topics such as menstrual and sexual health,” said Cath Everett, vice president at the London-based femtech firm. “Our users often come to Flo for period or ovulation tracking, and stay for the wealth of science-backed content, expert-led courses and accurate cycle predictions. We’re fortunate to partner with the top universities and conduct cutting-edge medical research. With this funding, we’ll be able to further democratise access to credible health information, helping people better understand their unique signs and symptoms on an even larger scale.”

Flo will also use the funding to fuel the company’s continued headcount growth as it targets talent across product, engineering, R&D, data science and medical roles. Headquartered in London and with a footprint across Europe and the USA, the employee base has more than doubled in the past two years to 350, with the growth set to continue.

With a community of over 200 million users, coming from all corners of the world, Flo has gained significant traction. In the past twelve months, the company has experienced hyper-growth: the app has increased its active subscribers’ base four times reaching 1.5m in August 2021. By the end of 2021, Flo aims to reach $100m annual run rate. The business model is purely subscription-based. The company recently introduced Flo as a benefit to US employers to support women in the workplace with the resources they need physically and mentally.

VNV Global and Target Global led the round.

“Flo is a category-defining company in the femtech industry,” said Alexander Frolov, CEO of Target Global. “As of this year, we’re just starting to see a shift in start-ups addressing specific female health conditions, but there are very few companies that are addressing the root causes of these conditions. Flo’s proactive platform is ahead of the curve, and has raised the bar for what consumers should expect from consumer health apps.”

Flo provides curated cycle tracking and predictions, personalised health insights, and real-time health alerts based on tracked symptoms in an easy-to-use interface. Over a billion menstrual cycles have been tracked within the app, and 95% of users say Flo contributed to their overall well-being. To date, 27.7 million women got pregnant while using Flo. With over 200m of Flo users, every tenth woman between ages 15 and 49 in the world manages her cycle using the app.

“Flo’s long-term value and impact on its users is truly unmatched in the industry,” said Per Brilioth, CEO of VNV Global. “With its deep medical expertise and advanced product, Flo is addressing a critical gap in preventative care, an area that has been neglected for far too long. Flo’s strong position in this space and already impressive user base make the company well-positioned to continue to be a pioneer and true market leader over the coming years. We couldn’t be more thrilled to contribute to the next stage of its evolution.”