Women’s Health Innovation Program 2027

About

Upstart Impacts’ 2027 accelerator will support 10 Pennsylvania-based or relocating pre-seed and seed-stage life sciences and MedTech companies in examining their technologies through women’s biology while advancing commercialization, at no cost and with no equity requirement.

Benefits

• 🚀No-cost, equity-free program — Selected companies can participate at no cost, and no equity is required.
• 🧑‍🏫 Mentorship — Selected companies receive one-on-one mentoring and individualized support from experienced mentors, clinicians, investors, and industry experts.
• 🌐Expert network — Access to 50+ mentors and industry experts.
• 🤝Connections — Introductions to healthcare institutions, industry experts, and funding sources.
• 📚Curriculum — Immersive curriculum designed to prepare companies to advance toward funding and commercialization.
• 🏥Clinical partner — Lewis Katz School of Medicine serves as a clinical partner.

Eligibility Criteria

• Mandatory: pre-seed or seed-stage life sciences or MedTech company; based in Pennsylvania or Greater Philadelphia, or willing to relocate to Pennsylvania; willing to examine the company’s technology through the lens of women’s biology/female body.
• Not required: founders do not need to be women-led, and companies do not need to focus only on women-specific conditions; the program is disease-agnostic and welcomes companies whose technologies may have implications for women’s health even if not yet explored.
• Preferred (reported): companies that are coachable, curious, and open to support.

Participation Commitments

• No participation fee and no equity requirement are stated. Selected companies participate in intensive programming from February through June 2027, a summer implementation period, and a September investor showcase. Technical.ly reports the program is mostly virtual with five in-person events; whether those in-person events are compulsory is not publicly stated.

Target Region

Pre-seed and seed-stage life sciences or MedTech companies based in Pennsylvania or Greater Philadelphia, or willing to relocate to Pennsylvania. The 2027 cohort is described as Pennsylvania-based companies.

Target Sector

Healthcare & Life Sciences