Prelude Fertility, a new startup by Martin Varsavsky, wants to give couples, and women, in particular, a chance to have a baby when they want to.
The fertility company aims to provide progressive fertility care wherein the ability of a woman to conceive children is preserved s that she can have a baby when ready.
According to Forbes, the company has a $200 million fund from Lee Equity, a group of investors which include Barry Baker, Collins Ward, and Yoo Jin Kim. The fund will be used to "turn the technology of infertility -in vitro fertilization and egg freezing - and aggressively expand it into fertility." In layman's terms, the Prelude Method is done by freezing the sperm and egg cells while the clients are fertile. They are then used to make embryos once the parents say so. The procedure also reduces the risk of congenital probes and multiple pregnancies.
Varsavsky, founder, and CEO of Prelude Fertility believes that many women who become mothers due to their biological clock are forced to give up their careers or other endeavors. At the same time, young couples often become parents at a time when they are not ready mentally, emotionally and financially.
Prelude aims to address that problem by harvesting eggs from women and keeping them until the woman or couple is ready to get pregnant or start a family. That way, even if they decide to have a baby at a rather old age, they are still assured that the baby will be healthy.
The Argentine entrepreneur based in Spain has created seven companies, including Prelude Fertility, in the past 25 years. His other companies are Urban Capital, Medicorp Sciences, Viatel, Jazztel, Eolia, and FON. These companies are located in Europe and the United States.
The 56-year old father of six is married to Nina Wiegand who is expecting their seventh child. The baby growing in Nina, which the couple affectionately calls Seven, is actually a "product" of Prelude Fertility as well as their five-year-old daughter Mia.
