#3 of the Most Promising 2019 Swiss Startups: Ava, The Digital Pill
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News from the winner of the last two years: Ava enters a second business area.
A double-double was achieved in the last financial year, says Ava CEO Pascal Koenig. The basketball term refers to a two-digit yield in two key values. At Ava, this means that revenue more than doubled in 2018, reaching over CHF 10 million for the first time.Koenig and his three co-founders have proved that they can also grow, with the geographical expansion in full swing. From the recently opened Hong Kong location, the intention is to gain a foothold in the Chinese market from 2020.
Ava earns its money through a data tracker on a woman’s wrist that records nine vital signs of fertility. “We want to stay with the bracelet for the time being,” says Koenig, “but we can greatly extend the functionality.” Just as it tracks signs of ovulation for those wanting to become pregnant, it can thus also act as a means of contraception.
Ava earns its money through a data tracker on a woman’s wrist that records nine vital signs of fertility. “We want to stay with the bracelet for the time being,” says Koenig, “but we can greatly extend the functionality.” Just as it tracks signs of ovulation for those wanting to become pregnant, it can thus also act as a means of contraception.
The contraceptive market is estimated at USD 23 billion worldwide, but it is barely digitised. One reason for this is the regulatory barrier to entry. “That’s why,” says Koenig, “we are now turning increasingly from a lifestyle-oriented start-up to a medtech company.”
The new application of the data bracelet will also be distributed via medical channels, and for that reason Ava’s scientific staff are currently travelling from one gynaecological conference to another. The market entry is planned for 2020.
However, Koenig will not experience that as CEO, since he will make way for his co-founder Lea von Bidder on January 1st, 2020. As a full-time board member, he will henceforth take care of the long-term strategy and the necessary funds. And always with the bigger goal in mind – that Ava becomes the global pacemaker of data-driven women’s medicine.
The new application of the data bracelet will also be distributed via medical channels, and for that reason Ava’s scientific staff are currently travelling from one gynaecological conference to another. The market entry is planned for 2020.
However, Koenig will not experience that as CEO, since he will make way for his co-founder Lea von Bidder on January 1st, 2020. As a full-time board member, he will henceforth take care of the long-term strategy and the necessary funds. And always with the bigger goal in mind – that Ava becomes the global pacemaker of data-driven women’s medicine.