Halogen Ventures has confirmed it has now surpassed 100 investments in female-founded startups since the fund was established in 2015. The venture capital firm, led by founding partner Jesse Draper, focuses specifically on early-stage companies that include at least one woman on the founding team. The total market value of the portfolio now exceeds $15 billion and includes six “unicorn” companies valued at over $1 billion each.
The milestone is a significant indicator of the financial impact of female-led businesses. The fund is 100% female-founded and 85% of its companies are led by female CEOs. Halogen has deployed capital across various high-growth industries including fintech, healthcare, artificial intelligence and consumer technology. Notable names in the portfolio include the health testing company Everlywell and the baby registry platform Babylist.
“When I started Halogen, I heard the same thing over and over ‘there aren’t enough women starting companies,’ ‘it’s not a big enough market.’ People were skeptical, to put it mildly. For years investing in women was dismissed as a charity play rather than recognized as a massive, untapped market,” said Jesse Draper, Founding Partner of Halogen Ventures. “We saw the opportunity over a decade ago when almost no one else did. Over one hundred investments and six unicorns later, and counting, the results speak for themselves.”
Halogen has also been a leader in defining the “Future of Family” as a major investment category. This sector, which includes childcare and education, is estimated to have a $7.5 trillion global opportunity. Furthermore, the firm has expanded its reach beyond the usual tech hubs by partnering with the state of Alabama to back local female founders, resulting in nine recent investments in the region.
The announcement comes despite a challenging landscape for women in technology. While female-founded companies in the US raised a record $73.6 billion in 2025, startups founded solely by women still capture only about 1% of total venture capital dollars.
“The most powerful thing we can do to strengthen the economy is to get more capital into the hands of women,” Draper said. “We are seeing extraordinary founders building solutions for families, healthcare, childcare, the future of work, transportation, infrastructure, beauty & wellness, consumer products and so much more. These companies are not only solving major societal challenges, they are building the next generation of trillion-dollar businesses. If you don’t like the way the world looks right now, invest in women.”
