The Capital Enables the Hybrid Maternity Care Company to Scale Through Tech Advancement and Physical Expansion

SAN FRANCISCO: Millie, a tech-enabled maternity clinic, today announced that it raised $12M in Series A funding co-led by TMV and Foreground Capital, with significant participation from Pivotal Ventures and the March of Dimes Innovation Fund, two of the most prominent organizations advancing women’s health. Current investors, including Ingeborg Investments, also participated in the round alongside BBG Ventures, Joyance, LearnStart, Amboy Street Ventures, Mother Ventures, Coyote Ventures, and Chai Ventures. This new funding round underscores the rapidly growing demand for patient-centered maternal healthcare that delivers better experiences and outcomes. The capital will be used to expand Millie’s technology platform, offerings, and market footprint, with new clinics slated to open in 2025, starting with an upcoming launch in California in collaboration with Good Samaritan Hospital, part of HCA Healthcare.

Maternity care in the United States is fundamentally broken with high costs, subpar outcomes, and poor patient experiences. Access to maternity care is steadily declining due to OBGYN shortages. According to the 2024 March of Dimes Maternity Care Deserts Report, over 35% of counties were designated maternity care deserts. The United States is an outlier among peer nations in the low use of midwives in the maternity workforce. Studies consistently show that they are the optimal provider for more than 80% of pregnancies that are classified as low-to-moderate risk, with lower c-section rates and higher patient satisfaction scores. Patients are increasingly looking for alternatives to the traditional care model, and demand for midwifery care is rapidly growing, supported by a favorable regulatory landscape.

“We believe Millie has built the ideal model to drive better outcomes: midwifery-led, powered by both clinician and patient-facing technology, in partnership with health systems and payers. Not only is this transformative for maternal health but there is a huge upside potential as Millie builds a longitudinal relationship beyond the maternity episode,” said Emma Silverman, Partner at TMV, an early investor in Cityblock and Kindbody.

“Having been on the patient and provider sides of maternity care, I know the gaps all too well. We are proud to back this visionary founding team to fill these gaps and set a new standard of care for the 6 million pregnancies each year,” said Dr. Alice Zheng, Partner at Foreground Capital.

Millie accepts all major insurance plans, both Commercial and Medicaid. Its care model has shown better outcomes with 30% better NTSV C-section rates and 67% better preterm birth rates, compared to national averages. The patient population reflects the diverse community, with over 50% of patients identifying as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), and NPS scores above 90.

“Millie’s inclusive approach, focus on overlooked markets, broad-based health system partnership strategy, and in-network care is purpose-built to address critical access gaps in maternity care,” said Erin Harkless Moore, Managing Director, Investments at Pivotal Ventures. “Its experienced team and capital efficient model offer significant potential for change at scale.”

In addition to end-to-end clinical care throughout pregnancy and labor and delivery, the Millie model goes well beyond the current standard with a home postpartum visit and 1:1 coaching with doulas. For patients who may benefit from additional resources, Millie also offers lactation support, mental health counseling, relationship therapy, and more. In 2023, Millie also added preconception counseling and other gynecology offerings to meet demand from patients who wanted to begin care sooner and stay with Millie for their ongoing care.

Millie’s technology integrates a care platform, remote patient monitoring tools, and a proprietary patient app, that collectively provide continuous care through the maternity journey. With end-to-end clinical insights and interaction data from thousands of visits, Millie is expanding AI-enablement of its care operations to drive patient outcomes at scale, with strong margins.

“Inspired by a near-miss following the birth of my own daughter, I set out to build a better maternity model that provides more complete, right-sized, and proactive care,” said Anu Sharma, Founder & CEO of Millie. “I’m proud that Millie is not only a women-powered team, but is also backed by an all-star women-powered cap table — evidence that women are creating and funding their own solutions to create a better system for themselves.”

Millie plans to open doors to new clinics in 2025 starting with San Jose, California adding to its flagship Berkeley location, and will also be expanding its gynecology and wraparound care offerings.

“Our community deserves exceptional, compassionate care, and Millie is bringing just that to Good Samaritan Hospital,” said Patrick Rohan, CEO at Good Samaritan Hospital, part of HCA Healthcare. “We are thrilled to welcome Millie to our hospital family and to the San Jose area. Their innovative approach to maternity care is inspiring, and we’re proud to partner with them to ensure that every family’s birthing experience is as safe, supported, and empowering as it can be.”

ABOUT MILLIE:

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Millie is a new kind of maternity clinic, “built by moms and care providers who’ve been there,” that is reimagining the standard of maternity care in the United States. Millie’s clinic offers a 360-degree, patient-centered care approach grounded in clinical best practices to guide people from conception through prenatal care, labor & delivery, and the postpartum period – ensuring that individuals are wholly supported through the physical, mental, emotional, and social changes experienced during pregnancy and parenthood. Offerings also include miscarriage management, lactation support, mental health counseling, prenatal education, postpartum support groups, and ongoing gynecological care. Fast-growing Millie’s hybrid model, inclusive of a digital platform, physical clinics, and health system partnerships, has served over 1700 patients since launching in September 2022. To learn more about Millie, please visit www.millieclinic.com.

Fonte: Business Wire