Tennis superstar Serena Williams and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban have teamed up to invest in a startup working to end maternal mortality.
Williams has a passion for helping mothers. After she had her young daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., the 37-year-old revealed her own life-threatening birth complications. Fortune reports Serena Ventures and Cuban have invested $3 million in Mahmee.
The company provides a number of online resources such as group discussions with other moms, medical provider info and trained “maternity coaches” who can flag if something is wrong.
Other services include patient monitoring and video calls with medical experts. There are paid tiers starting at $20 and ending at about $200. As of this report, Mahmee has about 1000 providers in their network.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner knows all too well what Black mothers face. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, “Black women are three to four times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related complication than non-Hispanic white women.”
“I am incredibly excited to invest and partner with Mahmee, a company that personifies my firm’s investment philosophy,” Williams said in a statement. “Given the bleak data surrounding maternal death and injury rates, I believe that it is absolutely critical right now to invest in solutions that help protect the lives of moms and babies.”
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