Lilu is a technology company.
Lilu has raised $980K across 2 funding rounds.
Lilu has raised $980K in total across 2 funding rounds.
Lilu is a women's health technology company that develops wearable devices to improve postpartum care, focusing on making breastfeeding and pumping more comfortable, efficient, and pain-free.[1][2][3] It builds tech-enabled products like the Lilu Lactation Massager Bra, Omni Breast Pump, and MilkSense Smart Bra, which leverage patented pneumatic massage technology, IoT, and robotics to help new mothers pump up to 55% more milk, track breast milk, and address physical, mental, and emotional challenges of early motherhood.[1][2][3] Serving new moms transitioning to parenthood, Lilu solves outdated breastfeeding tools that contribute to early cessation of breastfeeding, with early growth including shipping to over 2,500 customers, FDA Class 1 clearance, and patents in the US and China.[2]
Lilu was founded in May 2016 in New York, NY, by engineers Sujay Suresh (MSE in EE from UPenn, experience in electrical design for CERN-funded projects, founder of nonprofit Jyothi for women's safety) and Adriana Vazquez Ortiz (MIPD from UPenn, BS in Maths and CS from MIT, software roles at Morgan Stanley and BMW, UX design at Farmivore).[1][2] The idea emerged from observing friends, professors, and peers—leading roboticists and designers—struggle with breastfeeding after returning to work post-maternity leave, revealing outdated technologies and lack of innovation in maternal health despite high prevalence of issues.[2] After interviewing hundreds of moms and lactation experts, the duo applied their engineering and design expertise to innovate; key early milestones include launching the massaging pumping bra, securing two US patents and one in China, FDA clearance, and initial shipments to 2,500+ customers.[2]
Lilu rides the rising wave of femtech and maternal health innovation, addressing a $50B+ global market gap where outdated pumping tech causes 40-50% of moms to stop breastfeeding early due to pain and inefficiency.[2] Timing aligns with post-pandemic focus on women's health, IoT wearables, and hard tech for consumer products, amplified by expert consensus on massage benefits and regulatory nods like FDA clearance.[1][2][5] Market forces favoring Lilu include growing demand for smart postpartum solutions amid workforce re-entry trends and underinvestment in maternal tech; it influences the ecosystem by pioneering automated wearables, inspiring similar IoT/robotics applications, and validating engineering talent in underserved women's health.[2][3]
Lilu is poised to expand its platform with advanced IoT integrations for holistic postpartum tracking, potentially capturing more of the femtech market through partnerships and global scaling (e.g., leveraging China patent).[2] Trends like AI-driven personalization in wearables and policy pushes for maternal support will accelerate growth, evolving Lilu's influence from niche innovator to category leader in smart motherhood tech. As postpartum care tech matures, Lilu's engineering edge positions it to redefine efficiency for new moms, building on its "life saver" traction.
Lilu has raised $980K in total across 2 funding rounds.
Lilu's investors include L'ATTITUDE Ventures, Ecliptic Capital, LvlUp Ventures, Osney Capital, Quake Capital.
Lilu has raised $980K across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $830K Seed in September 2021.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2021 | $830K Seed | L'ATTITUDE Ventures | |
| Dec 1, 2017 | $150K Seed | Ecliptic Capital, LvlUp Ventures, Osney Capital, Quake Capital |