Bonnier Growth Media Invests in Natural Cycles

The Stockholm-based fertility app Natural Cycles is raising an SEK 50 million (USD 6 million) Series A from Bonnier Media Growth and existing investors Sunstone and E-ventures to fuel international expansion and perform additional clinical studies. 

Natural Cycles, a clinically tested fertility app that has been shown to be as effective as the contraceptive pill at preventing pregnancies, launched in 2014 and counts more than 100,000 users in 161 countries with the large majority of users in Sweden. Natural Cycles reported revenues of USD 2 million in 2015, its first full year of trading.

The new capital will be used to build out the team, which currently consists of 12 people, expand internationally with focus on the U.S. as well as pursue a set of clinical studies within the field of contraception and fertility.

“We have been able to demonstrate the past two years that our app is something that women want and need. Natural Cycles is a healthy business – women pay for the app, they use it practically every day and most importantly, they love it. It is truly an honor to have been able to improve so many women’s lives,” says Elina Berglund, CTO & co-founder of Natural Cycles, who started the company together with her husband after being part of the team of researchers that discovered the Higgs boson at CERN.

The medical world also has begun to recognize and endorse the app. Kristina Gemzell, the leading Swedish researcher in the field of contraception sits on the company’s advisory board and conducts clinical studies together with Natural Cycles.

“We are building a large company and the funding will primarily be used on recruitment. Natural Cycles operates in a very complex field with many stakeholders – women, doctors, regulators. It is essential to strike a good balance between consumer and medical. We want to combine the best of the worlds of pharmaceutical and tech – building an empowering brand backed with thorough research. We are very excited to have Bonnier on board for this journey. It is especially their long-term thinking, consumer focus and commitment to scaling our business, which makes Bonnier Growth Media a great partner,” says Raoul Scherwitzl, co-founder and chief executive.

“Natural Cycles has a unique product and a best-in-class team with a combination of scientific, technology and business competencies. This makes them a perfect match for Bonnier Growth Media’s focus on backing ambitious founders who are building exceptional digital consumer businesses where we can add value in terms of consumer understanding and scaling the business further. Natural Cycles’ mission of making every pregnancy wanted is not only an engaging endeavor to be a part of, but we are convinced that it is also a great business opportunity,” says Ulrika Saxon, CEO of Bonnier Growth Media.

Bonnier Media Growth is the venture arm of the Swedish media group Bonnier, and its previous investments include companies such as podcast platform Acast, virtual reality gaming studio Resolution Games and cashback service Refunder.

Natural Cycles is the safe, healthy and easy-to-use fertility app for women based on their body temperature, which is used to prevent, plan and monitor pregnancies. The app was founded by husband and wife team, Dr. Elina Berglund and Dr. Raoul Scherwitzl.

With PhDs in physics, they applied their mathematical techniques to develop the Natural Cycles algorithm. Elina was a researcher at CERN and one of the physicists whodiscovered the Higgs boson which lead to the Nobel Prize in 2013.

The Natural Cycles app mission is to educate and empower women to take control of their fertility and future around a vision where every pregnancy is wanted. Beyond the app offerings, Natural Cycles advances scientific research in the field of contraception and fertility.