What happened to the Amazon fertility tracker?

On November 13, 2024, CNBC broke the news that Amazon cancelled a four year project to develop and launch a fertility monitoring device and smartphone app. This has become my Roman Empire. I remember the moment I heard the news. I was walking my kids into swim lessons when an alert popped up on my phone and I spent the whole time scouring the internet for more information, while also pondering why Amazon took this project on in the first place.  

 I continue to wonder why Amazon wanted to create a proprietary tech product, dumped a ton of money into it, and then ultimately closed it down before it hit the market (even though it wouldn’t be the first time.) I also wondered, are there any parallels to other big tech companies trying to make a move into women’s health? Let’s go down a rabbit hole together.  

Various news outlets have repeated the same basic facts of the story: 

• Per FemTech Insider, “The project, codenamed “Encore,” emerged from Amazon’s 2020 acquisition of bluDiagnostics, a Wisconsin-based startup. The technology aimed to analyze saliva samples to measure fertility hormones estradiol and progesterone, with results viewable through a smartphone app.” 

• The project was part of the Grand Challenges division of the company and joins other failed ventures like Alexa glasses.

• The truly baffling figure is the burn rate for this project, which is reported at an average of $1.5 million a week. *Scribbles on back of envelope*: This is roughly $75 million per year (assuming a generous 2 weeks of PTO) or around $300 million for the life of the project. In the world of digital health investing – that’s unicorn status. To put this in perspective, Oova, a home hormone tracking kit company, raised a series A of $10.3 million back in 2023. Maven Clinic, one of the most successful women’s health tech companies has raised a total of $425 million over ten years.  

 So, why build a fancy fertility tracker? 

Over the past decade I have explored the use and development of various traditional ovulation trackers and digital health devices that all aim to help identify a woman’s fertile window and increase the chance of conception. I even ran my own experiment with multiple products on the market while trying to conceive my second child. At the end of the day, based upon my research and conversations with OB-GYNs, the most tried and true method for most females trying to get pregnant is to use ovulation test strips to time sex. (Around $1 per test.) When used correctly, they are 99% accurate in detecting a luteinizing hormone surge prior to ovulation which helps people time intercourse and increase their chances of getting pregnant.   

Oova and Mira, claim that their higher prices, which start at around $150 and go up as additional tests are needed, are warranted because they can actually confirm that ovulation happened and offer more quantified self data than a line or two on a regular test. The companies also claim that menstruating people with PCOS or irregular cycles have greater success of conception with the additional data. I haven’t seen research studies to prove this. But I digress.   

The point is, there are already bougie fertility monitors on the market. Sure, maybe offering a saliva-based test kit reduces the ick factor of using urine, but despite what the Pinky Gloves dudes assumed when creating their product, women are actually pretty attuned and comfortable with their bodily fluids. If you prefer to use saliva, there is already another test on the market that tries to mimic laboratory testing of estrogen in saliva, known as ferning. The FDA really throws a lot of stipulations behind how well this might work for people outside of a clinical environment.  

When I lay in bed at night contemplating the fall of the Roman Empire, I mean, the demise of this internal Amazon project, what really eats at me is how many times someone said yes to try to create a product that likely wasn’t particularly innovative or disruptive for women’s health. Someone said yes to creating a team. Someone said yes to a huge budget year over year. Someone said yes to taking on the expensive and time-consuming FDA review process. Someone said yes to a large technology company collecting highly sensitive health data that may or may not be to market women supplements and any other number of products that prey on their insecurities while trying to conceive. So many yes-es with nothing to show for it.  

This is one more example in a string of many where large tech companies miss the mark with women’s health innovation. With great power comes great responsibility. I am constantly pondering what stepping up to the responsibility plate looks like for companies like Amazon. I don’t want to project my bias and passion and assume everyone should do something to improve women’s health, but if companies are going to commit time and resources to the tune of $300 million, I think there are a lot of smart people out there who could advise on more impactful use of funds to build a better future for women.  

Katie D. McMillan, MPH is the CEO of Well Made Health, LLC, a business strategy consulting firm for health technology companies. She is also a curious researcher and writer focusing on digital health evidence, healthcare innovation, and women’s health. Katie can be reached at katie@wellmadehealth.com or LinkedIn.