Issue #32 | Wednesday, October 28, 2026
✉️ Letter from the Editor
It’s amazing what 32 weeks of data can tell us about the capital flowing to and from women-founded companies.
Based on the deals we have tracked, our data is telling us that the median funding round involving one or more women founders is hovering at around $9.25M.
We already knew that AI & machine learning was eating up most of the capital (roughly 39.8% across all rounds tracked, excluding Anthropic), but our data is also telling us that healthcare & biotech (16.3%) and fintech (15.2%) are getting a notable share of the action.
Our data shows that in new venture funds where one or more women is listed as co-founder, the median fund size is $79.4M. This was measured across 46 final closes where an amount was disclosed.
Details on these deals live in our WINS LIST database. If you are interested in partnering with us to leverage this data for your business, please complete this brief survey.
Quotable inspiration is flowing in from Eléonore Crespo (Pigment), Cristina Nunez (True Beauty Ventures) and Ann Rodriguez (Pitchwise).
Expand your influence. Build your wealth. Celebrate your success.
Amie
Join one of my upcoming positioning workshops.
Read my latest article in Inc.—Do These 5 Things Before You Pitch An Investor
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Amie Sheridan | Editor, WINS LIST
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🛜 Capital Signals of the Week
Leading stories
Roughly $467M in disclosed funding went to 12 companies with one or more verified female founder.
Three women-led venture funds announced new capital, led by Seaya Nova’s €600M first close.
Four athlete-linked capital moves caught our attention, alongside a big move by the NFL
Notable data observations*
As tracked this week:
The median disclosed round was $15M.
Top sectors by capital:
AI and AI-native software: 92%
Health and wellness: 5%
Food and agriculture: 2%
Consumer and family services: 2%
Two mega rounds accounted for roughly 75% of total funding.
*These observations are based solely on deals tracked in WINS LIST. Deals are verified using public record and filings, when available. While we endeavor to capture every deal with accuracy, we can not ascertain that WINS LIST deal data is 100% accurate, nor can we guarantee capture of every venture deal involving one or more female founder.
📈 Founder Raises
Funding rounds raised by companies with one or more women founders
Tier 1 — Mega Rounds ($100M+)
Pigment (Eléonore Crespo) raised $250M Series E at a $2.3B valuation to grow its enterprise financial, sales, and workforce planning platform, led by EQT. —StrictlyVC
Hex Technologies (Caitlin Colgrove) raised $100M at a $1.2B post-money valuation to grow its collaborative data analysis and visualization platform with built-in AI assistance, led by Peak XV Partners. —FinSMEs, Oct 27
“Seven years ago, we launched Pigment in Paris with global ambitions. Today, we announced a Series E funding round of more than $250 million (€220 million) 🚀
Traditional tools are gradually giving way to a new generation of solutions. From Groupe SNCF to Danone, Anthropic and Snowflake, large international groups now manage their planning with Pigment.
Planning has always stopped at the decision-making process, then leaving it to someone to implement it. With AI agents capable of managing end-to-end planning processes, Pigment will enable decision-making to action, helping companies adapt to change as quickly as it happens.
Thank you to our customers, partners and investors, as well as to every Pigmenaut.”
Tier 2 — Growth Rounds ($25M–$99M)
Avante (Dr. Carly Eckert) raised $30M Series A to grow its AI-agent platform that analyzes employee benefit programs, evaluates vendors, and automates recurring benefits-admin work, led by Frist Cressey Ventures. —GeekWire, Oct 27
Nirva (Wei Lyu) raised $25M pre-Series A to build an AI-powered listening pendant that keeps personal context and memory, backed by earlier investors Lightspeed and South Park Commons. —TechCrunch, Oct 22
Tier 3 — Early Stage (<$25M)
ClarityCare AI (Hermine Tranie) raised $16.3M Series A to grow its platform that automates billing, documentation, and operational data tracking for medical providers, led by Headline. —FinSMEs, Oct 27
Overwatch Data (Zara Perumal) raised $15M Series A to grow its AI-agent platform that detects cyberattacks, fraud, and other digital threats, led by Mouro Capital. —Crypto Briefing, Oct 26
Volare (Jarna Hyvönen) raised $7.9M at an $82.9M post-money valuation to scale its insect-protein factory that converts food-industry byproducts into protein, oil, and fertilizer ingredients for animal feed, with Maki.vc investing. —Tech.eu, Oct 26
Opply (Helen Murphy) raised $7.5M to grow its AI-agent platform that finds suppliers, places and monitors purchase orders, verifies compliance documents, and pays suppliers for CPG brands, led by Chalfen Ventures. —Tech Funding News, Oct 21
Rosie (Mitra Raman) raised $7M across two oversubscribed rounds to grow its Seattle-based household and caregiving logistics platform for families, led by Bling Capital and Reach Capital. —GeekWire, Oct 20
Cellbox Solutions (Prof. Kathrin Adlkofer) raised $5.6M Series A to expand its Cologne-based portable incubators that maintain controlled temperature and CO₂ levels while transporting sensitive biological materials, led by Companisto. —TradingView, Oct 19
Colare (Esther Thomas) raised $2.5M pre-seed to build a simulation platform that helps aerospace, defense, and hardtech firms vet engineering candidates through real-world scenario testing, led by Afore Capital, Garage Capital, and Acadian Ventures. —SiliconANGLE, Oct 26
NABTA Health (Sophie Smith) secured a second close of its ongoing pre-Series A round to grow its at-home testing, remote-consult, and AI-supported care platform for fertility, pregnancy, and menopause, with Phoenix Venture Partners joining. —Femtech Insider, Oct 20
💸 Fresh Capital — New Venture Funds
Seaya Nova (Beatriz González) announced a €600M first close of a new fund to write €20–50M growth checks into Series B–D European tech companies with already-proven business models. —EU-Startups, Oct 22
True Beauty Ventures (Cristina Nuñez) has raised $54.7M for its third fund to back emerging beauty and wellness brands. —SEC Form D filing
BackingMinds (Susanne Najafi, Sara Wimmercranz) raised over €50M in a first close for its third fund, backing founders outside traditional venture networks across AI, climate, and resilience. —Arctic Today
“I want to back brands that understand their consumers as whole people, not just a collection of health goals and biomarkers. The woman who wants to build muscle and improve her metabolic health might also love a great cocktail, a late night out, or an indulgent weekend with friends. She doesn’t necessarily want her entire identity to revolve around wellness, even if she’s deeply committed to her health.
I want to invest in wellness brands that deliver results and a feeling. Brands that make healthy habits easier and more enjoyable, that understand what motivates their consumers beyond the functional benefits, and that build an emotional connection rather than simply promising another metric to improve.”
🏆 Athletes on the Cap Table
Athlete-backed capital moves that caught our attention this week
This section is contributed by Christie Lenox.
Russell Wilson (former NFL) and singer-songwriter Ciara invested in QALO, the wearable health technology company built for people who work, train, and live hard. The two joined as co-founders and will collaborate directly with executive leadership on brand strategy, product development, and marketing.
Ann Rodriguez (former Princeton Women’s Lacrosse) and Corey Woolfolk, co-founders of Pitchwise Holdings, a consortium of family offices and long-term institutional investors, is acquiring a 42% stake in Spanish football club Valencia in a deal that values the club at €1.25 billion ($1.4 billion).
Jobe Bellingham (UK pro footballer, brother of Jude) led a $10M investment round in Premier League-backed “movement intelligence” tech firm, Rezzil. Golf putting coach Phil Kenyon also joined the round.
The NFL is partnering with private equity firm General Atlantic on a new investment fund that will raise capital to invest in sports, media, and technology businesses. The league’s 32 Equity led by NFL CFO Christine Dorfler and GA will both contribute funds to the endeavor, with additional capital coming from outside sources.
Carlos Vela (former Mexican pro soccer) and his wife, Saioa Cañibano, have joined supplement brand Evoria Health as equity partners. Both Vela and Cañibano will have hands-on roles focused on product advisory, brand strategy, and promotional initiatives around daily nutrition, recovery, and longevity. Vela and Harry Tsao, co-founder of Evoria Health, are both owners in LAFC’s investor group.
“A little over a year ago, Corey Woolfolk and I launched Pitchwise Holdings with a shared ambition to invest in football clubs and help them reach their full potential.
Today, we're excited to share that we've agreed to an ownership partnership with Valencia CF.
Valencia is a club with an incredible history, passionate supporters, and tremendous potential. With a spectacular new stadium nearing completion, it's an exciting time for the club, and we're looking forward to working in partnership with club president Kiat Lim and the team at Valencia to help build a successful future on and off the pitch.
A big thank you to our investors, advisors, and everyone who has believed in us and supported us along the way.
Now, let's get to work!
¡Amunt Valencia! 🦇🧡”
🎬 Signing Off
Every week, we track the capital flowing to and from women founders and investors and unpack the capital moves of elite athletes.
WINS LIST Cumulative Impact
Since launch, WINS LIST has tracked…
~$16.88B
Founder Raise Capital
~$15.32B
New Fund Capital
427
Founder Raises
70
New Funds
32
Weeks
92
Athlete Deals
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Thanks for reading! See you next week.
— WINS LIST
Get the WINS LIST every week.
Sign up to receive the weekly signal digest tracking the capital flowing to and from female founders and investors, delivered to your inbox every Wednesday.
