Team Transition Seizes on Market Shift in Women’s Health Investment
Departing RH Capital fund managers have launched an independent venture firm to continue supporting women’s health startups.
Rhia Ventures was founded by Dr. Ruth Shaber and Tara Health Foundation to address the glaring lack of investment in women’s health, particularly in reproductive and maternal health. Rhia’s wholly owned investment subsidiary, RH Capital, housed one of the first venture capital funds focused exclusively on women’s health. Over the past five years, RH Capital evolved into the largest dedicated portfolio of early stage venture investments in the sector with 20+ high-impact companies representing a diverse cohort of founders across life sciences, digital health, and tech-enabled services.
The women’s health market has evolved and is now recognized as an area of opportunity for investment and development by investors, researchers, business leaders, and even the White House.
At the close of RH Capital’s second fund, total assets under management reached $43.5 million – proof that investors recognize the opportunities in women’s health. This maturation of the market has provided an opportunity for RH Capital’s team to spin out of the hybrid structure that was instrumental in its founding and establish a stand alone venture firm. The new firm, Foreground Capital, will continue to manage RH Capital Funds I and II, and work to catalyze larger pools of capital for women’s health. Foreground’s founding team is Elizabeth Bailey, Stasia Obremskey, and Alice Zheng.
This transition, effective October 1, 2024, represents a successful and natural transition in Rhia Ventures’ unique hybrid structure. The RH Capital team is grateful for the support from the Tara Health Foundation and Rhia Ventures that allowed for this idea to be tested successfully.
Rhia Ventures’ commitment to leverage capital to advance reproductive and maternal health equity continues. Rhia embraces a racial justice lens that centers those who have been historically marginalized in the health innovation process. Rhia Ventures is exploring alternative funding models in addition to traditional venture capital. Plans include a Fund III and additional funding vehicles, realizing that venture is not the only approach to stimulating innovation in health care.
Rhia Ventures and RH Capital offer a novel organizational model for effectively leveraging capital to transform the women’s health market particularly in nascent markets where incubation is essential.
