Serena Williams is supporting innovation in women’s health.

Teal Health

The tennis star has aligned herself with Teal Health, a women’s health startup founded by Kara Egan (CEO) and Dr. Avnesh Thakor in 2020. According to the company website, Teal Health’s inception trickles back to Thakor’s medical experiences over the years. He observed insufficient innovation around cervical cancer screenings and created a self-collect prototype. With Egan’s two decades of experience in finance, health, and technology, the company was formed with the vision to develop an at-home self-collect cervical cancer screening kit, currently under FDA review.

A user can start by requesting a kit, which initiates a vetting process to confirm eligibility. Once approved, the kit will be delivered to your home for sample collection. The sample is then mailed to a lab, and results are shared through Teal Health’s application. Users also have the option to speak with a provider for additional support.

Teal Health’s device will be especially significant for Black women. Research from St. Jude Research shows that Black women are 41% more likely to develop cervical cancer and 75% more likely to die from it compared to their white counterparts. These disparities are often due to medical distrust and lower rates of follow-up appointments, stemming from a lack of information and limited access to healthcare professionals.

“Cervical cancer is nearly 100% preventable with screening, yet in the U.S., more than 1 in 4 women are not up to date on their screening, and Black women are 41% more likely to develop cervical cancer than White women. It’s time to reverse this trend, our at-home self-collection screening device,” Egan told AFROTECH™. “Teal Wand™ will provide women with an alternative to the traditional screening method with stirrups and a speculum, making it easier for them to stay on top of their health – and eliminate cervical cancer as a public health concern for all women.”

$10M Raise

With $10 million in seed funding, Teal Health is now well-positioned to launch its device. Its funding round was led by Emerson Collective and Forerunner. It included participation from Labcorp and existing investors and Metrodora Serena Ventures—Williams’ VC firm, a press release shared with AFROTECH™ mentions.

“This investment allows us to bring Teal Health’s vision to life, getting our transformational screening solution into the hands of women. We’re here to create a new path forward, enabling women to take control of their health with confidence and ease. We’re deeply grateful to our investors,” Egan said in the news release.

This is not Williams’ first investment in the healthcare space. Through Serena Ventures, which has an investment portfolio of 79% underrepresented founders, it backed the HUED healthcare startup. As AFROTECH™previously reported, it joined the $1.6 million seed round in August 2021, which also included participation from Black Founders Matter, Female Founders Fund, Osage Venture Partners, Northwestern Mutual, and Gingerbread Capital.

“For Serena, who has personally talked about the issues she has had as a Black woman navigating the healthcare system, obviously, there was a mutual sense of understanding,” Founder Kimberly Wilson told Ebony Magazine.

HUED intended to impact 500,000 Black and Latinx patients by 2025.