For couples navigating the uncertain terrain of trying to conceive, the standard home test offers a binary answer. A single line, or a digital smiley face, indicates a surge in luteinizing hormone (LH) and a probable fertile window. Inito, a healthtech company founded in Bengaluru in 2014, is betting that a more comprehensive picture, quantitative readings of four key reproductive hormones, can provide more clarity and confidence [TechCrunch, Nov 2023]. Its wedge is a small, smartphone-attached reader that uses the phone's own camera as a microscope, a piece of hardware engineering that has now cleared the regulatory pathway of the US Food and Drug Administration [Entrepreneur.com, 2026].
The quantitative wedge
Inito's core product is the Inito Fertility Monitor, a direct-to-consumer device that works with proprietary urine test strips. Unlike over-the-counter ovulation predictor kits that typically measure only LH, the Inito system tracks estrogen (E2), LH, progesterone (PdG), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) [TechCrunch, Nov 2023]. The company's technical claim is that by measuring PdG, it can objectively confirm ovulation has occurred, moving beyond prediction to confirmation. The device uses the phone's camera to detect colorimetric changes on the test strip, translating them into lab-like quantitative values for each hormone, which are then displayed and tracked in a companion app.
A ten-year path to FDA clearance
Inito's journey to its recent $29 million Series B round, led by Bertelsmann India Investments, has been a long one [HT World]. Founded in 2014, the company went through Y Combinator's Winter 2018 batch and raised a $2 million seed round the following year [YourStory, Nov 2019]. A $6 million Series A from Fireside Ventures followed in late 2023 [TechCrunch, Nov 2023]. The recent FDA clearance is a significant milestone. The agency has determined the Inito Fertility Monitor is a Class I exempt device, meaning it does not require a full pre-market approval but has been reviewed for safety and effectiveness for its intended use [Wboy.com, 2026].
The team and the traction
The company is led by its two technical co-founders. CEO Aayush Rai, an IIT Roorkee graduate in electrical engineering, and CTO Varun A Venkatesan, an IIT Madras alumnus in engineering design with prior experience at Siemens, developed the underlying "flat lens" imaging system [Forbes India] [TechCrunch, Nov 2023]. The company now employs an estimated 51-200 people, reflecting its shift from pure R&D to commercial scaling [ZoomInfo.com].
The competitive and clinical landscape
Inito competes with other advanced at-home fertility monitors like Mira and Proov, as well as established brands like Clearblue. The competitive risks are clear: clinical validation, consumer behavior, and platform expansion. Inito's answer to these risks lies in its first-mover advantage in quantitative, multi-hormone tracking with FDA clearance. By building a deep dataset and a loyal user base, it hopes to establish its method as a new standard for the proactive fertility consumer.
The standard of care and the road ahead
Inito's bet is that it can carve out a new middle ground: providing a level of insight approaching the clinical, but in the privacy and convenience of home, at a consumer price point. The next twelve months will be about scaling on the back of its Series B capital and FDA clearance. Key milestones to watch will be user growth in the US, any partnerships with employer benefits programs or telehealth providers, and the first published research stemming from its aggregated dataset.