Nodal, a platform allowing surrogates to connect with intended parents after reviewing their parent profile, launched Wednesday with a $4.7 million capital raise.

Nodal was incubated by Pareto Holdings. The round was led by Amplo and supported by Chelsea Hirschhorn of baby and pregnancy supply company Frida, Scott Belsky of Behance, and Kate Ryder of Maven Clinic, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Interplay Venture Capital and others. 

WHAT IT DOES

Nodal aims to speed up the surrogacy connection process by prompting surrogates to connect with intended parents after evaluating parents’ profiles on its platform.  

Individuals and couples pay a monthly membership fee to Nodal to create a profile on the company’s platform that surrogates can view. According to the press release, Nodal screens each member on its platform via background checks and live interviews.

“For many people, surrogacy is the best and only option for starting or growing a family, but both potential surrogates and intended parents find the industry cost prohibitive, difficult to navigate and, frankly, frustrating. That’s what we’re working to change,” Nodal founder and CEO Dr. Brian Levine said in a statement.

“Our goal is to make surrogacy an attainable option for more intended parents and to give surrogates an exceptional experience with education, support and empowerment along the way.”

MARKET SNAPSHOT

Kindbody has been a significant player in the fertility/surrogacy investment realm, raising a $62 million Series C in 2021 and $32 million Series B round in 2020. 

Kindbody, which offers fertility services that include contraception care, egg freezing, fertility testing and virtual wellness and coaching services, announced its acquisition of Chicago-based surrogacy agency Alternative Reproductive Resources at the beginning of August this year. This acquisition marked the third announced by Kindbody in 2022 alone.

Legacy, a male fertility startup offering at-home sperm testing kits, semen analysis and cryopreservation, is another fertility company that announced Series B funding of $25 million in May 2022.

Other fertility-focused companies include Progyny, Proov, kegg and direct-to-consumer virtual care company Ro, which has acquired both Modern Fertility and male fertility startup Dadi.