Ananya Grover | Founder of HealCycle
In a space where women’s health is often overlooked or siloed, HealCycle is carving a new path blending artificial intelligence, community, and compassion to support menstrual and mental health with science and sensitivity. At the helm is its founder, a Princeton-educated computer scientist who has been advocating for menstrual equity since her teens.
With a degree in Computer Science from Princeton University and a background that spans both grassroots advocacy and cutting-edge technology, the founder of HealCycle has always believed in building tech for good. Her journey began with leading a social campaign against menstrual stigma as a teenager, delivering a TED Talk on the subject, and later developing pro-social applications of AI during her undergraduate research. Today, that trajectory has culminated in HealCycle—an app designed to support people navigating PMS, PMDD, PCOS, and hormone-related mental health challenges.
Her foray into FemTech began while working as a Public Health advisor with The Pad Project, where she researched and interviewed experts across medicine and science. She quickly realized that reproductive and mental health were often treated in isolation—despite their deep interconnection. The loss of her father to sudden cardiac arrest further galvanized her desire to focus on healthtech, recognizing that nothing is more important than human well-being.
HealCycle was born out of hundreds of conversations with women who felt unseen, misunderstood, or misdiagnosed. Though the journey hasn’t been easy—FemTech remains underfunded, stigmatized, and misunderstood—it’s precisely this challenge that fuels her mission: to bring legitimacy, research, and empathy into space.
Over the past year, HealCycle has grown from a bold idea to a fast-evolving digital tool. But the work began much earlier—back when she was 16, challenging taboos around menstruation through education and activism. One of the biggest hurdles has been building credibility in a historically neglected space. Yet, through workshops like Heal the Cycle: Menstrual and Mental Health 101 delivered across Delhi colleges and corporate environments, HealCycle is creating awareness and breaking down stigma at every level.
The founder’s achievements speak volumes. From giving a TED Talk in New York that reached over 1.8 million viewers, to graduating with honors from Princeton and receiving the prestigious Henry Richardson Labouisse ’26 Prize to build HealCycle full-time, her trajectory is marked by both recognition and impact. HealCycle has already been selected for Google’s AI Academy, receiving $25,000 in cloud credits, and counts Google for Startups as a Strategic Growth Partner. She was also an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Antler India, gaining support to further develop her vision.
What makes HealCycle unique is its approach: combining scientific rigor with emotional intelligence. Users can log symptoms and moods in a way that is personalized to their cycles, interact with an AI-powered chat companion trained for emotional support, and access a growing library of meditations, affirmations, and educational content tailored to PMS and PMDD. The platform is now expanding to include fertility wellness, perimenopause, and community-led support spaces called Heal Circles.
Current projects include a pilot study in collaboration with AthenaDAO, transitioning its user community from WhatsApp to in-app circles, and developing a unique mascot to enhance engagement and emotional connection. From design to content, every aspect of the app is built with inclusivity, clinical grounding, and cultural relevance in mind.
The founder is especially passionate about ensuring FemTech evolves to meet the needs of all users, not just a narrow demographic. She envisions the next five years of FemTech being defined by personalized, AI-driven care; decentralized diagnostics like at-home hormone testing; and intersectional, inclusive design that meets the realities of neurodivergent, LGBTQ+, and BIPOC communities.
For her, FemTech is not just a market, it’s a movement. One that demands empathy, grit, and collaboration. She urges future innovators in the space to build with the communities they serve, not just for them. And above all, she wants to bring menstrual mood disorders like PMDD into the mainstream conversation on mental health.
“I want a world where cycle-aware care is the norm, not the exception,” she says. “Where people know what they’re feeling is real and that support is available, accessible, and stigma-free.”
If you’re a trailblazer in women’s health or FemTech, we’d love to hear your story! Share your journey and insights with us at info@femtechindia.com. Together, let’s amplify the voices driving positive change.
