Serena Williams, Mark Cuban invest in company working to end black maternal mortality

Tennis champion Serena Williams and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban have both invested in Mahmee, a company working to end maternal mortality, which just ended a $3 million funding round.

“I am incredibly excited to invest and partner with Mahmee, a company that personifies my firm’s investment philosophy,” Williams, who donated through her organization, Serena Ventures, said in a Monday statement from the company. “Given the bleak data surrounding maternal death and injury rates, I believe that it is absolutely critical right now to invest in solutions that help protect the lives of moms and babies.” 

{mosads}Black mothers are three to four times more likely to die during childbirth than white ones, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Williams shared that she almost died after giving birth to her daughter in a personal essay published last year on CNN.com, detailing that 24 hours after her delivery she suffered from a blood clot in her abdomen.

Mahmee builds an “online dashboard” to connect mothers and infants with health care professionals, with technology that “proactively engages, checks on and monitors patients through ‘maternity coaches’ and escalates concerns to doctors so that mom and baby’s care plan stays up to date and critical red flags aren’t missed,” according to the press release. The service is sold through hospitals and health systems.

Cuban praised Mahmee’s “tech solution.”  

“My investment reflects my confidence in the strength of this team, and the value of their mission: to fill a major gap in the existing health care system that very few others are tackling,” the “Shark Tank” co-host said. “This tech solution is helping usher in the future of maternity health care.”  

Mahmee said the funding round will be used to grow the company’s team of engineers, clinicians and sales staff. 

Black maternal mortality has been the subject of legislation and investigations on Capitol Hill this year. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and 2020 hopeful Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) have introduced the Healthy MOMMIES Act, which expands Medicaid coverage to prenatal, labor and postpartum care, while Reps. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) and Alma Adams (D-N.C.) formed the Black Maternal Health Caucus in April.