Just three months after news broke that Chelsea Clinton was considering forming a venture capital firm, that firm is not just up and running, but also quickly gaining momentum.
On Tuesday, Metrodora Ventures, identified on its Twitter account as “a values-conscious venture capital firm focused on health and learning businesses,” announced its latest investment, the third startup the firm has publicly backed since its launch.
Metrodora exclusively revealed to Coins2Day that it is investing in Oula Health, a company that promises to be a “modern maternity center” combining different forms of pregnancy and birth care, from midwifery to obstetrics. Metrodora participated in a $3.2 million seed round for the startup, which is cofounded by Adrianne Nickerson and Elaine Purcell. Other investors include Female Founders Fund, Rock Health, and Kate Ryder, the CEO and founder of the fertility care company Maven. Collaborative Fund led the round. Oula plans to open a New York prenatal clinic and birth center as well as offer virtual coaching.
“Women should be at the center of their health care, especially during pregnancy,” Clinton said in a statement to Coins2Day about her investment in the startup. “That experience should be collaborative and holistic, and Metrodora is proud to support Oula Health to create an approach that does just that for prenatal and postpartum care.”
Nickerson and Purcell are aiming to make more accessible forms of pregnancy care that are more common outside the United States—like birth under the supervision of midwives. “Chelsea was one of the smartest investors we chatted with during the process,” says Nickerson. “She has a public health background. She was excited about—how do we take models we know work in other countries and apply them to the U.S.?”
Clinton’s public health background includes earning a master’s degree from and teaching at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health as well as working on related issues through the Clinton Foundation. Clinton recently joined Coins2Day’s Most Powerful Women Next Gen Summit for a conversation about vaccine hesitancy in the context of COVID-19. She also sits on the boards of startups Clover Health and Nurx.
Another recent investment by Metrodora Ventures demonstrates Clinton’s interest in the field. The fund backed Poppy Seed Health, also a startup in the maternal health space; the app allows users to submit by text questions about pregnancy and health care.
The third investment Metrodora has so far made public was in Fiveable, a startup on the other side of the firm’s stated interests. The education technology platform led by founder and CEO Amanda DoAmaral provides social learning for high school students.
“Investing in solutions that answer young people’s needs and challenges is an investment in our country’s future,” Clinton said in a statement about backing Fiveable. “As we launch Metrodora Ventures, we’re thrilled to be supporting a leader like Amanda, whose passion for democratizing access to high-quality education is at the core of every decision, and a company like Fiveable that fosters creativity and critical thinking for students inside and outside the classroom.”
Metrodora gets its name, the fund says, from ancient Greece, after the author of On the Diseases and Cures of Women, the first medical text known to have been written by a woman.