Mae
Mae is a company.
Active
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Financial History
Total Raised
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Leadership Team
Key people at Mae.
Mae is a company.
Key people at Mae.
Key people at Mae.
Mae is a digital health platform focused on maternal health equity for Black expectant mothers. It connects users with culturally competent resources, including doulas, health tracking tools, symptom education, and lifestyle support to improve pregnancy outcomes and address disparities where Black women face 3-4 times higher mortality risks from pregnancy-related causes.[1] Mae serves Black pregnant women and new mothers, partnering with healthcare payers and states to reduce systemic inequities, with early funding signaling growth in a market seeing expanded Medicaid doula coverage and insurer support for birthing experts.[1]
Launched in 2021 with $1.3M in pre-seed funding led by SteelSky Ventures (plus Avestria Ventures, MBX Capital, Rhia Ventures, and Social Starts), Mae targets avoidable complications that cost the U.S. healthcare system billions annually, positioning itself as a value-based supplemental care solution.[1]
Mae was founded by CEO Maya Hardigan, a Black mother with 15 years in digital health product innovation, including a recent role at Pfizer.[1] Hardigan developed the idea from personal experience, creating "the resource I wish I’d had during my own pregnancies," amid a national crisis of Black maternal health inequities.[1] She collaborated early with leaders from large healthcare corporations to build a hybrid care model emphasizing access, inclusivity, and whole-person care.[1]
The platform launched publicly in September 2021 with its $1.3M pre-seed round, attracting top women's health VCs and underscoring belief in its model to pair doula support with digital tools for risk identification and culturally specific education.[1] This funding marked a pivotal moment, enabling product expansion toward long-term clinical impact.[1]
Mae stands out in digital health through these key features:
Mae rides the wave of health equity tech and femtech growth, targeting Black maternal mortality—a crisis amplified by structural biases and costing billions yearly.[1] Timing aligns with policy shifts: post-2019 expansions in doula/midwife coverage via Medicaid and commercial plans, plus state RFPs demanding innovation from managed care organizations.[1] Favorable market forces include evidence-backed doula efficacy and payer incentives for outcomes-based solutions amid rising U.S. maternal deaths.[1]
In the tech ecosystem, Mae influences by pioneering culturally specific digital health, inspiring similar niche platforms and pressuring incumbents to prioritize inclusivity, while contributing to broader femtech momentum in value-based care.[1]
Mae's trajectory points to expansion into full value-based care partnerships, leveraging its seed momentum to scale clinically validated tools and doula networks amid growing reimbursements.[1] Trends like AI-enhanced risk prediction, further Medicaid reforms, and femtech consolidation will shape its path, potentially evolving Mae into a payer-preferred standard for high-risk pregnancies.[1] As investor quotes highlight, its focus on "empowering women to access, educate, and advocate" could amplify its ecosystem role, reducing disparities and setting a model for equity-first health tech.[1] This positions Mae as a vital player in reshaping maternal care from the ground up.
