Halogen Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on startups with at least one female founder, announced it has surpassed 100 investments in female-founded companies since its launch in 2015. The milestone positions the firm among the largest venture portfolios in the U.S. dedicated exclusively to backing women entrepreneurs.
The firm’s portfolio is now 100% female-founded and 85% female CEO-led, with a combined valuation exceeding $15 billion. Across its investments, Halogen has backed companies spanning consumer technology, healthcare, fintech, artificial intelligence, and the emerging “Future of Family” category. The portfolio includes six unicorns, each valued at more than $1 billion.
Notable portfolio companies include Everlywell, valued at $3.5 billion; Babylist, which has surpassed $1 billion in annual gross merchandise value; HopSkipDrive, which has delivered over one million student rides; Flex, a sustainable period care brand; Upwards, a national childcare platform with more than 66,000 providers; and Metropolis, an AI-powered mobility company that raised $1.6 billion in 2025.
Halogen has also helped define the “Future of Family” investment category, which represents an estimated $7.5 trillion global opportunity across childcare, education, healthcare, and workplace flexibility. Within that, the childcare market alone is valued at roughly $520 billion globally, yet remains historically underfunded.
The firm has expanded beyond traditional startup ecosystems, including a strategic partnership with the state of Alabama, where it has made nine investments across sectors such as AI, healthcare, fintech, robotics, workforce technology, childcare, and clean energy.
The announcement comes amid broader momentum for female founders. In 2025, female-founded companies in the U.S. raised a record $73.6 billion, accounting for 27.7% of total venture deal value. However, companies founded solely by women still received just over 1% of total venture capital funding, highlighting a persistent gap in capital allocation.
Halogen Ventures was founded by Jesse Draper, a fourth-generation venture capitalist, and continues to focus on identifying early-stage companies led by women across high-growth sectors.
KEY QUOTES
“When I started Halogen, I heard the same thing over and over ‘there aren’t enough women starting companies,’ ‘it’s not a big enough market.’ People were skeptical, to put it mildly. For years investing in women was dismissed as a charity play rather than recognized as a massive, untapped market. We saw the opportunity over a decade ago when almost no one else did. Over one hundred investments and six unicorns later, and counting, the results speak for themselves.”
“The most powerful thing we can do to strengthen the economy is to get more capital into the hands of women. We are seeing extraordinary founders building solutions for families, healthcare, childcare, the future of work, transportation, infrastructure, beauty & wellness, consumer products and so much more. These companies are not only solving major societal challenges, they are building the next generation of trillion-dollar businesses. If you don’t like the way the world looks right now, invest in women.”
Jesse Draper, Founding Partner of Halogen Ventures
