Femtech barometer 2026: France confirms its leadership on the international stage

What is Femtech?

The term Femtech, a contraction of “female” and “technology”, refers to all innovations aimed at improving women’s health: connected devices, mobile applications, health software, educational platforms, and more. These solutions address concrete needs and cover a wide range of conditions. Women’s health is not limited to gynecological diseases; it encompasses all conditions affecting women, whether specific to them or not.

Certain conditions, such as depression, affect women more frequently, while others, such as cardiovascular diseases, present different symptoms, diagnoses and treatments depending on sex.

Femtech positions itself as an innovative response to disruptions in women’s healthcare pathways. It intervenes when certain conditions are insufficiently managed or even overlooked, or when women’s biological specificities are not adequately integrated into traditional medical approaches.

With 200 Femtech startups referenced in 2026, France stands out on the international stage

The French Femtech sector continues to take shape. With 200 active startups as of 30 April 2026, compared with 170 a year earlier (open in a new tab), French Femtech confirms its growth trajectory, with an 18% increase year-on-year. The market is gaining depth: the average funding round reaches €3m, nearly a quarter of startups (23%) have already reached profitability, 38% report stable revenue, and 14% have reached €1m in revenue. These figures reflect the sector’s growing maturity.

Driven by genuine commercial traction and robust business models, Femtech startups are now firmly embedded in France’s health innovation landscape. This structuring is also reflected in the sector’s financial attractiveness: today, half of French Femtech startup funding comes from international investors, confirming that the ecosystem’s influence extends well beyond national borders.

In 2025, the Canadian Embassy launched a program to support the international expansion of Canadian Femtech startups. While the United States could have been the natural destination for such a program, Canada’s startups chose to focus primarily on France and the United Kingdom. A strong signal of the growing credibility of the French ecosystem on the international stage.

Mental health is increasingly emerging as a priority across associative, institutional and economic spheres

As illustrated by the 2025 governmental Barometer from the French Ministry of Health, nearly one in two women has experienced a mental health disorder during her lifetime, compared with 36% of men. Long relegated to the background, mental health is now recognized as a major collective issue, affecting women in particular and in distinct ways due to biological, social and societal determinants that remain insufficiently addressed.

In response, associative players such as the FondaMental Foundation and the Alliance for Mental Health play a key role in raising awareness, reducing stigma and structuring public debate. This momentum is notably reflected in the initiative led by the LOBA association, with the publication of the first General Assembly of Women’s Mental Health in October 2025.

The topic is also increasingly addressed by public authorities through institutional work, such as the French National Assembly’s information report on women’s mental health, which identifies three areas for action: deconstructing stereotypes, combating inequalities and restoring self-image; training professionals and raising public awareness; preventing, screening and providing care.

The Femtech ecosystem actively contributes to this challenge by offering innovative and operational solutions, such as Butterfly XR, which supports women and their partners following early pregnancy loss through digital and immersive psychological support solutions designed to complement care pathways.
At the same time, companies are becoming more engaged by integrating mental health into their internal policies (HR and CSR). The signing of the workplace mental health charter stands as a strong marker of the recognition of mental health as a fully-fledged strategic issue.

Decidedly optimistic outlook for 2026

Far from being discouraged by the global economic context, French Femtech startups are approaching 2026 with strong confidence. 79% plan to recruit over the year, reflecting sustained growth ambitions, and 77% report being optimistic or very optimistic about their company’s future. These development ambitions are reflected in the growing diversification of sought-after profiles: alongside medical expertise, tech, regulatory and commercial skills are increasingly in demand.

This momentum is also underpinned by growing institutional recognition: among the startups surveyed, seven benefit from reimbursement by the French national health insurance system, paving the way for genuine scaling. In an economic climate marked by caution, this level of confidence sets Femtech apart as one of the most resilient sectors in health innovation.

Acknowledgements: many thanks to the active contributors from Wavestone (Daphnée Fabrizi, Amina Khemakhem) and Femtech France (Juliette Mauro, Diana Marcial) for their in-depth work on the 2026 Barometer. This work was also enriched by contributions from Groupe VYV and players from the medical field. We thank all the startups that responded to our study, the Île-de-France Region, as well as the Santexpo and VivaTech trade shows, which will showcase the results of this study.