Breast pump startup Willow acquires assets of Elvie as UK women’s health pioneer moves into administration

Women’s health and its startups building connected breast pumps, period trackers, and other apps and hardware designed for women have collectively pulled in more than $5 billion in funding in the last five years, but the market is tight, and now, two of the trailblazers in the space are coming together as consolidation beckons. Willow, the San Francisco startup that made its name with wearable breast pumps, is acquiring Elvie, which started with a smart Kegel trainer before expanding to other products for new mothers, including its own breast pumps and most recently, a bassinet. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed but we understand that it’s coming as Elvie enters administration. The London startup raised more than $186 million over the last 12 years with investors, including Octopus Ventures, BlackRock, and Blume Equity, among others. Its last valuation was $241 million, per data from PitchBook. The companies have been in conversation for some time, after Willow approached El ... Read full article.