Building Bridges to Capital: How WOMEN x AI Connected Healthcare Founders and Investors at JPM 2026
- Jenny Kay Pollock
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Hosted during JPM Week 2026, Bridging the Gap for Greater Investment connected women healthcare founders with venture capital investors.
đź“Ť San Francisco | đź“… January 12, 2026
🤝 Hosted by WOMEN x AI and Pier 70 Ventures
đź’Ľ Sponsored by CLA
đź©ş Focus: Women Healthcare Founders & Venture Capital
JPM Week is one of the most important gatherings in global healthcare, bringing together founders, investors, pharmaceutical companies, health systems, and innovators from around the world. On January 12, amid a week packed with meetings and announcements, WOMEN x AI hosted Bridging the Gap for Greater Investment to create meaningful connections between women healthcare founders and the investors funding the future of healthcare.
The event brought together women venture capitalists, healthcare founders, and industry leaders around a shared mission of helping close the funding gap facing women entrepreneurs. More importantly, it was designed to create the kind of meaningful introductions that can change the trajectory of a company.
Why Women Healthcare Founders Need Greater Access to Venture Capital
Healthcare innovation depends on bold ideas, but turning those ideas into companies requires access to capital, relationships, and trusted networks.
Despite growing momentum, women founders continue to face significant barriers to fundraising. In 2025, startups founded entirely by women received just 1.1% of U.S. venture capital dollars, according to PitchBook data reported by Inc.
The right introduction can lead to a first meeting, a follow-up conversation, and sometimes, a check. That's why we believe community can help to expand opportunity.
Why We Hosted This Event
This event began with an idea from Reut Lazo, WOMEN x AI Co-Founder and Co-CEO.
She wanted to create a space where women building healthcare companies could connect directly with women venture capitalists actively investing in the sector.
We partnered with Preetha Ram, Managing Partner and CTO, Pier 70 Ventures and one of our WOMEN x AI advisors to make this event a reality.
Fortunately, the WOMEN x AI ecosystem already brings together exceptional founders, investors, operators, and executives, making it possible to create these connections in an intentional and meaningful way.
While JPM Week offers countless opportunities to meet people, finding the right people can still be difficult. We wanted to create an environment where founders and investors could spend less time searching for one another and more time having conversations that mattered.
Flipping the Traditional Pitch Event
Most founder pitch events ask entrepreneurs to present. We decided to break the mold and have both the investors and founders pitch.
The afternoon began with venture capitalists introducing themselves, sharing their investment focus, preferred stages, check sizes, and what they were actively looking for. Only then did founders take the stage to present their companies.
That simple shift changed the dynamic.
Instead of founders trying to determine which investors might be a fit, everyone entered networking with greater clarity. Founders already knew who aligned with their business before the conversations even began, leading to more focused discussions and more meaningful follow-up.
Connecting Investors and Healthcare Innovators
Amid a week packed with meetings and announcements, Bridging the Gap for Greater Investment created dedicated space for women healthcare founders and investors to build relationships that could lead to future funding and collaboration.
Our goal wasn't simply to host another networking event. It was to create an environment where conversations could turn into relationships, relationships could turn into opportunities, and opportunities could ultimately become investments.
Spotlight on Featured Founders
The companies featured during Bridging the Gap for Greater Investment reflected the breadth of innovation happening across healthcare and women's health.
From AI-powered drug discovery and healthcare navigation to personalized oral care, diagnostics, digital health, and healthcare infrastructure, the founders demonstrated the range of challenges entrepreneurs are solving across the ecosystem.
While this is only a selection of the founders who presented, their work reflects the strength and diversity of the WOMEN x AI community.
Jo Varshney, Founder VeriSIM Life
Jo is transforming drug development through BIOiSIM, an AI-powered platform that predicts human outcomes before clinical trials. By helping researchers make better decisions earlier, VeriSIM Life is making drug development faster, more efficient, and more cost effective.
Amanda Ducach, Founder Ema
Amanda is building Ema a vertical AI platform for women's health that delivers longitudinal care and contextual intelligence, helping create more connected and personalized healthcare experiences.
Jas Schembri-Stothart, Founder luna
Jas is building luna a trusted digital companion for teenage girls, providing safe, medically reviewed health information through what she describes as a "big sister" experience in your pocket. They recently expanded from the UK to the US market.
Nidhi Pai, Founder ZERObrush powered by OralTwin.ai
Nidhi is reinventing oral care with a custom-fit, AI-powered toothbrush designed specifically for each individual's mouth. The company's vision is to deliver personalized oral care through intelligent automation.
Erica Plybeah, MedHaul
Erica is building MedHaul and AI-powered healthcare mobility infrastructure that helps health systems transport complex patients more safely and efficiently, improving access to care for those who need it most.
Maria Lence, Founder of For Women's Health
Maria is addressing the healthcare navigation gap for women. Her platform helps patients connect with expert providers and receive faster diagnoses for conditions like endometriosis, which can often take seven to ten years to diagnose.
One comment from Maria Lence, Founder of For Women's Health perfectly captured what we hoped to accomplish:
"It was the most useful event in all of JPM because I actually got to connect with investors."
For us, that's exactly what success looks like.
The Outcomes Matter
Networking is valuable. Introductions are valuable. But our goal has always been to create opportunities that continue long after the event ends.
We're thrilled to share that multiple founders who participated have secured investment as a result of relationships formed through this event, with several additional companies currently in due diligence.
Those outcomes reinforce why we believe so strongly in creating intentional spaces where founders and investors can build meaningful relationships that extend beyond a single afternoon.
These early investments are exactly why WOMEN x AI continues to invest in building communities that connect founders, investors, and operators throughout the year.
Thank You
A heartfelt thank you to our partners CLAÂ and Pier 70 Ventures, every investor who generously shared their time and expertise, and every founder who stepped onto the stage to share their vision.
Most importantly, thank you to the WOMEN x AI community for continuing to prove what's possible when we intentionally bring the right people together.
We're excited to continue creating opportunities that connect founders with investors, strengthen the healthcare innovation ecosystem, and help move more capital toward the women building the future.
Continue Exploring
Coming soon:Â Investors to Know in Women's Healthcare: JPM 2026 Edition, a curated guide featuring the venture investors who participated in the event, their investment focus, preferred stages, and what they're looking to fund.
When the right people meet, innovation moves faster.
Comments