By Jhillika Trisal, AthenaDAO Science and Deal Flow Contributor
On June 25th, AthenaDAO hosted its first-ever demo day showcasing seven early-stage startups, researchers, and spin-offs working at the intersection of femtech, biotech, and AI. The demo day provided a glimpse into the future of women’s health education, research, and innovation.
In the span of an hour, seven stellar teams took the virtual stage: early-stage startups, researchers-turned-founders, and lab spinouts, funded and incubated by AthenaDAO.
From announcing AthenaDAO's first decentralized clinical trial with Ovul AI to hearing how we are supporting companies like the pioneer of IVF, Professor Simon Fishel's ProFaM, AthenaDAO is building paradigms to extend fertility to seeing technologies empowering women to take data-driven decisions across phases of their reproductive life.
Projects included:
Dr. Mario Cordero / F/ACC: Understanding the role of the cGAS-STING pathway and senescence in the ovarian aging
Gero.AI / OVARIA: Identifying Novel Targets to Delay Ovarian Aging from BioBanks
LifeAhead: The first-ever personalized forecast of your reproductive milestones. Discover your fertility timeline, years out.
CoopHive: Building infrastructure for the machine economy
ProFam: Empowering Women by Preserving Fertility, Postponing Menopause whilst Supporting Post-Reproductive Health – Naturally and Physiologically
HealCycle: Track, understand, and manage your PMS, PMDD, and menstrual health
Ovul: AI hormone monitor that tracks your fertile window, predicts ovulation, and tests estrogen trends by detecting ferning crystals in your saliva — then drops the results straight into your Ovul AI App.
Each pitch shared the same core trend, science that doesn’t just sit in journals but is primed to move the needle in real-world care.
Laura Minquini, the founder of AthenaDAO and the Fertility Acceleration movement, announced the launch of AthenaBIO, an early-stage, equity-based fund created to be the first capital for translational science companies.
This marks a strategic evolution for AthenaDAO. AthenaBIO pushes us into even bolder territory, writing first cheques into some of the boldest, high-potential biotech x femtech ventures that dare to commercialize research from the lab bench out into the world.
AthenaDAO along with AthenaBIO stand for the same values, albeit the approaches will be different. AthenaBIO is more than a fund. It’s a posture. A bet. On researchers who want to build, not just publish. On science with the teeth to transform care, not just generate citations. On founders who don’t want to wait for permission, and who are ready to take their translational science to market. (Watch replay to find out more)
It’s an expansion, from IP to equity, from funding ideas to backing execution, from unlocking knowledge to accelerating deployment to unlocking new paradigms in patient care.
The Demo Day ended on a high. The chat buzzed with excitement about the future of women’s health. Questions poured in. Intros followed. The message rang clear: the future of women’s health is being built right now, and AthenaDAO is more audacious than ever in backing the ones building it.