Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

Serena Williams, Mark Cuban Invest $3M in Support Network for Moms Called Mahmee

Tim Daniels

Tennis superstar Serena Williams and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban have combined to invest $3 million in Mahmee, a startup company aiming "to coordinate comprehensive prenatal and postpartum healthcare."

Mahmee co-founder Melissa Hanna told Sarah Buhr of Tech Crunch in a piece published Monday that the company is planning to use the large investment to grow its team with engineers, clinicians and sales staff:

"We're so focused on delivering a healthy baby that mom gets sidelined. And this industry is lacking the IT infrastructure needed to connect these professionals from different organizations to each other, and to follow and monitor patients across practices and health systems. This missing element creates gaps in care. Mahmee is the glue that connects the care ecosystem and closes the gaps."

Williams gave birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., in 2017.

She authored a first-person piece for CNN in February 2018 that detailed her own health scare following the delivery, writing she "almost died after giving birth:"

"It began with a pulmonary embolism, which is a condition in which one or more arteries in the lungs becomes blocked by a blood clot. Because of my medical history with this problem, I live in fear of this situation. So, when I fell short of breath, I didn't wait a second to alert the nurses.

"This sparked a slew of health complications that I am lucky to have survived. First my C-section wound popped open due to the intense coughing I endured as a result of the embolism. I returned to surgery, where the doctors found a large hematoma, a swelling of clotted blood, in my abdomen. And then I returned to the operating room for a procedure that prevents clots from traveling to my lungs. When I finally made it home to my family, I had to spend the first six weeks of motherhood in bed."

Williams added that the professional care she received saved her life, and her investment alongside Cuban is targeted at bringing that type of treatment for new moms to more women.

Cuban, whose estimated net worth is $4.1 billion (via Forbes), is a longtime investor in startups.

   

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