Introducing fertility benefits for employees at the workplace, Apryl raises €4.1 million

Raging talent wars for employees means that companies today are desperately looking for ways to attract and retain the best ones, thus creating an important power shift between employers and employees. In doing so, many companies are supporting their employees on their way to parenthood.

Founded in 2019 by Jenny Saft and Tobias Kaufhold, Berlin-based fertility and family forming benefits startup Apryl is enabling companies to support their employees on their path to parenthood. In doing so, it has raised € 4.1 million in funding. The seed round was led by Breega and accompanied by pre-seed investor Atlantic Labs, Crista Galli Ventures, Myelin VC, Alliance For Impact Ventures and Westtech Ventures.

Apryl is not alone in the race though. As VC investment into fertility startups trebled in the last four years and surpassed $1billion in 2021, a number of fertility startups have emerged to take a lead in the segment.

London-based Gaia recently raised $20 million in a Series A funding round to further its mission of enabling more people to become parents. The startup has introduced an IVF insurance product that is underpinned by clinically validated datasets in combination with machine learning techniques.

So, what is Apryl doing differently? Apryl (formerly known as Oviavo) offers access to reproductive treatments as employee benefits. This includes care navigation, consultations, access to clinics and treatments such as egg/sperm freezing, IVF, adoption, or surrogacy - subsidised by the company but safe and confidential.

CEO Jenny Saft said: “Companies have a key role to play in helping employees on their path to parenthood. To remain competitive, businesses must demonstrate a family-first culture and a willingness to support their employees in this critical life phase. We believe that to win the war for talent, enterprises must show they can tackle the problems that really matter to millennials. Apryl’s fertility benefits platform allows them to do just that.”

The fresh cash will help fuel Apryl’s next phase of growth, building on recent global customer wins. Apryl is looking at expanding the team in product, operations, sales and marketing to strengthen its operational backbone.

Victor Drault, principal, Breega, added: “April’s solution speaks to a growing issue for both today and tomorrow’s workforce. At Breega, we strongly believe in their vision, we also believe that providing them with the right operational support - thanks to the Breega Scaling squad - will transform that vision into reality, helping the business to become a global category leader in the fertility benefits space.”