Black Doula’s Reproductive Health Startup, LOOM, Gets Acquired By Perelel

Women’s health company Perelel has acquired LOOM, a sexual and reproductive health information platform co-founded by Erica Chidi.

Chidi, a doula and health educator, joins Perelel as a strategic advisor, where she will use her expertise to advance the shared mission of supporting women and people with uteruses through their reproductive health journeys.

LOOM’s Journey

In 2017, Erica Chidi and Quinn Lundberg founded LOOM to fill gaps in reproductive health education, particularly for diverse communities.

LOOM offers regulatory-compliant guidance and personalized support throughout different phases of sexual and reproductive health, from menstrual care to menopause.

In 2020, the Los Angeles-based brick-and-mortar initiative transitioned to a digital model. Its app offered subscription-based online courses and community support, expanding its reach to a global audience.

LOOM has raised $6.5 million from investors such as Founders Fund, Slow Ventures, and Precursor Ventures, plus angel investors like Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow and actress Tessa Thompson.

These investments make Chidi, a first-generation Nigerian American and lesbian, one of the few Black women to have raised over $1 million in venture funding.

The Acquisition by Perelel

Perelel is the nation’s first OB/GYN-founded vitamin brand. The company provides targeted nutrition for various stages of a woman’s hormonal journey—including fertility, pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond.

Perelel’s acquisition of LOOM—for an undisclosed amount—follows a decades-long friendship between Chidi and Perelel Medical’s co-founder, Dr Banafsheh Bayati. However, it was LOOM’s digital shift that paved the way for the acquisition.

“Once we launched our app in the App Store last October, I knew I wanted to move forward and ideally find a company that had a higher clinical acuity — or a higher consumer acuity — and could use what we built to better support women in a more 360 way,” Chidi told TechCrunch.

In a statement, Chidi expressed her excitement about the partnership: “I am immensely proud of the impact LOOM has had over the past seven years … I am proud to join Perelel as a strategic advisor and combine our power to amplify our shared mission of supporting women of all stages throughout their hormonal lifespan.”

This acquisition marks a new chapter for Perelel, which says it has experienced over 120% year-over-year growth since its founding.

The company has expanded its product offerings and secured $6 million in a Series A funding round led by Unilever in February.

Image credit: Apiece Apart