# Lilu, Inc

Smart tech products for more comfortable breastfeeding 


- Canonical URL: https://wefunder.com/lilu
- Entity ID: wefunder:company:142421
- Last updated: 2026-06-15T05:01:12Z
- Generated at: 2026-06-15T13:48:24Z

## Quick facts
- Leading maternal health innovation with 2 product lines: Omni Breast Pump; MilkSense Bra + App
- Patented massage for 55% more breast milk; ground breaking sensors for real time lactation insights
- Validated through beta product: $250k+ in sales; 2.5k+ customers, loved by 300+ lactation experts
- Raising $1.25M; $550k from investors, $700k in matching funds from National Science Foundation
- Proven consumer demand through validation tests: Improved CAC by 15-20x compared to beta product
- Founded by two MIT and Penn engineers
- $3M raised from National Science Foundation, YCombinator, L'attitude, SOSV, AdAstra, LEL, and Quake
- Breast pump market: $9B by 2030 (CAGR 8.75%); projected revenue: $100M+ in 7 years

## Active fundraises
- wefunder:fundraise:96262: 4(a)(6) successful (USD)
- wefunder:fundraise:96263: 4(a)(6) successful (USD)

## Story
WHY LILU? At Lilu, we’re on a mission to redefine every mother’s breastfeeding and pumping journey so the joy of motherhood isn’t overshadowed by pain and discomfort, and is instead enriched with seamless, integrated care.The Problem: Breast Pumping is Painful Why Breastfeed?A breastfed child is at a much lower risk of obesity, diabetes, and infectionsBreastfeeding is also associated with cognitive benefits, with studies showing higher IQ among exclusively breastfed childrenBreastfeeding even lowers the risk of certain kinds of cancers in momsHowever, moms still need to rely on antiquated breast pumping technology that hasn’t seen disruption in decades. The result? Over 75% of moms stop breastfeeding within the first 6 months which is well below WHO’s recommendation of 2 years. Moms have to deal with bottles, tubes and cables; they’re eternally multitasking while breastfeeding 5-6 times a day. The #1 reason why so many moms quit breastfeeding is because they find pumping too difficult, time-consuming, and painful.This is where Lilu comes in. The Solution: Smart, Tech-Enabled Products Designed to Make Breastfeeding Comfortable, Efficient, and Pain-Free Our Omni Breast Pump and MilkSense systems are backed by science, rigorously tested, and enthusiastically endorsed by over 2,500 moms and over 300 lactation experts.Designed as complementary products:OmniSystem increases breast milk output with less pain and discomfortThe MilkSense App unlocks powerful lactation insights to optimize breastfeeding and pumping routinesPASSIONATE ENTREPRENEURS AT THE HELMWe’re Adriana C. Vázquez Ortiz and Sujay Suresh Kumar, engineers from MIT and Penn and the founders of Lilu. We hail from Mexico and India respectively and we met during our graduate programs at UPenn where we were labmates working on creative robotics projects together. Having seen many of our friends and colleagues struggle and feel disappointed with breast pump tech, we set out to learn more about the challenges of breastfeeding. After spending hundreds of hours in research, speaking with hundreds of moms in person and surveying thousands more, we discovered several prominent pain points with breastfeeding and breast pumping. We were appalled to see that breast pump tech was severely outdated. As engineers, product designers, and future parents ourselves, this was not acceptable to us. Motherhood is special, but it isn't always easy.In fact, motherhood can be stressful, exhausting, painful, and confusing. Given the enormous health benefits for baby and mom, the choice to breastfeed seems simple, but it’s not. The WHO recommends that a child be breastfed for 2 years[1]. However, less than 25% of infants are exclusively breastfed for 6 months[2].These numbers might be staggering, but they’re not surprising. 70% of moms need to go back to work 6-8 weeks postpartum. When they are away from their babies, they have to rely on outdated, inefficient breast pumps to continue to produce milk, and constantly worry about whether or not they are producing enough. Research shows that over 95% of breastfeeding moms use breast pumps during their lactation journey, during which they confront a number of challenges[3].As engineers, product designers, and future parents ourselves, this was not acceptable to us. That’s why we became deeply passionate about making life easier for new moms by creating the products of tomorrow. Tested with hundreds of moms during thousands of pumping sessions, and now trusted by over 2,500 moms in their breastfeeding journey, our patented massage technology is proven to be highly effective. Not only does our massage technology increase moms' milk production by 30-55%, it also reduces pumping time, pain, and risk of common infections like mastitis.KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTSWon the Philadelphia Innovation of the Year award in 2019Raised $750k in grants, prizes and early stage venture capital fundingBacked by Dreamit, Penn Center for Innovation, won multiple awards and accolades including a prize by Philips Health, among othersShipped 2.5k+ units of inaugural product through D2C and wholesale.Built relationships with 300+ lactation expertsReceived top press coverage including Mashable, Philly Citizen, WIRED, sheKnowsMany moms who were about to quit breastfeeding, said the Lilu Massager + Bra is what enabled them to continue to breastfeed their babies and it even helped some moms relactate.Having achieved technical validation and early product market fit through the beta product, the Lilu Massager + Bra, we are now ready to evolve. With a solid understanding of potential blockers to scale, we used a robust, customer-inclusive framework to design the most viable product possible. The Omni is ready to launch Q3 2024 and we know that moms want this product. We vetted customer demand for the Omni through validation tests which showed 15-20x improved acquisition costs (CAC) compared to the beta product. From rapid user adoption, glowing reviews, and the grants and awards received, we know our massage innovation offers major improvements to the outdated industry. The Lilu Massager + Bra proved that with the right technology, moms can pump smarter, not harder — and the Omni Breast Pump will make it even easier.Milksense Bra + App: A GenAI-Powered Lactation Coach in Your PocketThe new and groundbreaking MilkSense Bra + App is the first technology to provide real-time tracking of breastmilk supply while also caring for the overall physical and mental health of moms – since they can’t take care of their baby if they don’t first take care of their own selves.As moms feed their baby or pump, the cutting edge sensors embedded in our bra collect information about their breast milk production, expression, breathing, stress levels, movement, and sleep to provide them with holistic insights about their lactation via our mobile app.After a few sessions, MilkSense can provide precise estimations of a baby's milk consumption during breastfeeding for a full picture of their feeding. It’s designed to help moms understand their breast milk production, visualize trends, and learn what tools and tweaks work to make lactation easier. The app also features an AI Chatbot for expert guidance to further support Lilu moms.More importantly, MilkSense breaks the cycle of overwhelm, isolation, and anxiety, giving moms a companion to support their personal lactation journey. It’s a major step toward helping the mental health of millions of new moms around the world.The MilkSense Bra is ready to launch in 2025; we are currently rolling out the beta version of the App with the full scale launch planned for Q1 2024.Underserved MarketWe’ve come a long way since our inception in 2017 and only $1.3M in dilutive funding from investors. Imagine the mountains we can scale with this raise. FinancialsBoth Omni and MilkSense have strong unit economics in the D2C and wholesale spheres.The Lactation Insights App offers a freemium model with future opportunities to provide additional value-added services to our customers, allowing them to choose the level of support they need on their journey.Looking into the future, the femtech industry has shown a precedent for lucrative exits in the maternal health space. Innovative mom tech companies have been scaling rapidly; pump companies like Elvie and Willow have raised over $150M and Maven recently became a unicorn. Yet many problems with maternal health, especially when it comes to breast pumping still remain unaddressed.With our comprehensive product line, strong unit economics and an omni-channel strategy, we are well poised for growth.All Star TeamAdriana C. Vázquez Ortiz | Co-founder & Co-CEOEducation: Master’s in Integrated Product Design, University of Pennsylvania, BS in Math with Computer Science, MITEx Morgan Stanley, SWE at BMW, UX Design NYC HealthUX Design, NYC Health and Lifestyle startupAchievements: Top 30 Femtech Healthcare Influencer; Winner, SheKnows BlogHer competition, Winner, AlphaLabGear Hardware cup, Tory Burch fellowSujay Suresh Kumar | Co-founder & Co-CEOEducation: Master’s in Electrical Engineering, University of PennsylvaniaProfessional Experience:High Energy Physics Group at UPenn, designed circuits for the ATLAS experiment, CERNCo-founder of Jyothi, a nonprofit in India for survivors of harassment and rapeKey role in launching 4G in India at Reliance Jio InfocommSpent 2 years in Shenzhen, China, working closely with manufacturers for the Lilu Massager BraAchievements: Forbes 30 under 30, Advocate and thought leader in health innovationRagini Kothari | Product EngineerEducational: MS in Biomedical Engineering, Columbia UniversityFocus: Early-stage and post-launch R&D for wearable medical devices in healthJesse Potash | Business OperationsBackground: Ex JPMorgan Chase and BlackRockExperience: Launched and exited an ecommerce brand; ops leadership at a Series C real estate tech startupLiAn Delos Reyes | Social Media and CommunityCredentials: Certified Breastfeeding SpecialistBackground: Founder of Milksta, wellness brand supporting maternal healthMenka Patel | Business DevelopmentExperience: 9 years as Business Development Senior Director - International, Kate SpadeWe have an incredible board of advisors that bring a wealth of knowledge in medicine, manufacturing, and sales: Dr. Diane Spatz: Director of Lactation at CHOP, founder and Director of Mother's Milk Bank at CHOP, and one of the most well-known lactation experts in the US. Dr. Spatz’s models are used by UNICEF and the WHO worldwide to increase breastfeeding awareness. Kara Forney: Founder of The Bump, a leading website for millennial moms that successfully exited through a merger with the XO Group. Sharrie Lister Booker: Senior Director, Global Merchandise Sourcing at Stanley. She has 30+ years’ experience in the apparel industry and held leadership positions in companies like Nike, Urban Outfitters, and NBA. Angie Kim: Founder of AYK, a luxury brand. Industrial & soft goods designer. Lead designer at IDEO for 8+ years. Bianca Caban: Columbia MBA, Managing Director at SheWorx, Director of Partnerships & Business Development at Republic, and Managing Partner Taino Capital. Rutger Flohil: Columbia MBA, US CEO at Kaia Health Software. Prev. Managing Partner & Head of Corporate at Gympass. 5+ years at Bain and Company. Shahir Salyani: MBA in healthcare management at The Wharton School. For the last 30 years he's led business development for innovative digital health technologies and medical devices globally.Ji Ke: MEng M.E. Program Director at HAX. Previously Prev. Engineer at IDEO, Mothercare.We also have a powerful group of backers funding our journey.Funding Our FutureOur innovations have the potential to re-write the narratives for moms around the globe. With Lilu's technology, some of the hardest things moms will ever do become easier and more sustainable. Our Omni Breast Pump System and MilkSense + App can help moms continue to provide milk for their babies while also caring for themselves.We’re raising capital to launch our next generation of breastfeeding and pumping products. Using Wefunder, we want to give our community, supporters, and moms everywhere a chance to invest in Lilu and share in our upside!Right now your support is amplified: We have an opportunity from the National Science Foundation to apply for $700K in matching funding upon closing this round (matching funding up to $500k from this round and an additional $200K in grant funding)! If you want to be a part of this mission and make a positive impact on the lives of moms around the world, we hope you join us on our mission to empower breastfeeding moms because they deserve more. We CAN make it easier and give new moms peace of mind by providing them with the tools to take control of breastfeeding!Citations:[1] World Health Organization[2] Center for Disease Control Breastfeeding Report Card [3] Mamava Breastfeeding Survey [4] Lilu's internal survey with 550 moms[5] Combining hand techniques with electric pumping increases milk production in mothers of preterm infants by J Morton, J Y Hall, R J Wong, L Thairu, W E Benitz, W D Rhine[6] Psychosocial stress and cortisol stress reactivity predict breast milk composition by Anna Ziomkiewicz, Magdalena Babiszewska, Anna Apanasewicz, Magdalena Piosek, Patrycja Wychowaniec, Agnieszka Cierniak, Olga Barbarska, Marek Szołtysik, Dariusz Danel & Szymon Wichary [7] Prevalence of self-reported postpartum depressive symptoms – 17 states, 2004–2005. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2008;57(14):361–366

## FAQ
1. **Can you talk about the data privacy aspect with your products?**
   - Thank you for your question, Curtis. At Lilu, we take data privacy seriously, and safeguarding the security and confidentiality of our users’ information is our top priority. The data collected by our MilkSense Smart Bra and Mobile App, encompassing breast health, lactation, physical and mental wellness, will be handled with the utmost care. To ensure the highest standards of protection, we will implement robust encryption technologies for secure data transmission and storage. Importantly, Li...
2. **Hello, love the product - I have a couple of questions: - In regard to the 300+ lactation consultant you refer to, are they all certified? - In terms of the data you used to determine 30-50% increase in supply - was this measured using the new sensor? If not how was the supply...**
   - We really appreciate your kind words, Lesleigh. - The 300+ lactation experts who endorsed Lilu includes certified lactation consultants (IBCLCs and CLCs), doulas and midwives who work very closely with new moms to help with during their postpartum journey. - The data around the efficacy of our massage technology was measured through a pilot with our debut product, the Lilu Massage Bra, that followed a rigorous protocol designed by a leading lactation expert. This pilot included 40+ moms and w...
3. **What is the price of each share of Lilu, Inc on wefunder.com ???**
   - Hi George! Since we are an early (seed) stage startup, we are currently raising on a SAFE note and not an equity round. What this means is that your investments will convert into equity when Lilu raises our next priced round and the the valuation cap on the investments on Wefunder is $8.5 million. We are currently offering a 20% discount on this, exclusively to early investors on Wefunder. You can learn more about SAFE notes and how they work here: https://help.wefunder.com/contracts/304785-s...
4. **How often will Lilu send out investor updates after the Wefunder campaign closes?**
   - Hi C Prescott, We typically send out investor updates every month and will continue this cadence after the Wefunder campaign as well. Please let us know if you have any further questions. Thank you so much for your support.

## Team
- Adriana Catalina Vazquez Ortiz (Cofounder and Co-CEO)
- Sujay Suresh (Cofounder and Co-CEO)
- Jesse Potash (Business Operations)
- Ragini Kothari (Lead Product Engineer)
- LiAn Delos Reyes (Social Media & Community )

## Q&A
- Q: Can you talk about the data privacy aspect with your products?
  - A: Thank you for your question, Curtis. At Lilu, we take data privacy seriously, and safeguarding the security and confidentiality of our users’ information is our top priority. The data collected by our MilkSense Smart Bra and Mobile App, encompassing breast health, lactation, physical and mental wellness, will be handled with the utmost care. To ensure the highest standards of protection, we will implement robust encryption technologies for secure data transmission and storage. Importantly, Lilu is committed to complying with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) standards. HIPAA compliance means that our systems and processes adhere to stringent regulations governing the privacy and security of personal health information. Users can trust that their data is treated with the highest level of confidentiality. We empower our users by providing control over their data, allowing them to decide what information to share. Lilu does not sell or share personal data with third parties without explicit consent. We are transparent about our privacy practices and readily provide information and support to address any user concerns or inquiries. Our dedication to both innovation and data security ensures that new moms can confidently leverage our products for a successful breastfeeding journey, knowing that their privacy is our paramount concern. Additionally, you can learn more about our privacy policy here: https://www.wearlilu.com/policies/privacy-policy
- Q: How often will Lilu send out investor updates after the Wefunder campaign closes?
  - A: Hi C Prescott, We typically send out investor updates every month and will continue this cadence after the Wefunder campaign as well. Please let us know if you have any further questions. Thank you so much for your support.
- Q: What is the price of each share of Lilu, Inc on wefunder.com ???
  - A: Hi George! Since we are an early (seed) stage startup, we are currently raising on a SAFE note and not an equity round. What this means is that your investments will convert into equity when Lilu raises our next priced round and the the valuation cap on the investments on Wefunder is $8.5 million. We are currently offering a 20% discount on this, exclusively to early investors on Wefunder. You can learn more about SAFE notes and how they work here: https://help.wefunder.com/contracts/304785-safe-simple-agreement-for-future-equity If you have any followup questions, please feel free to reach out to us at founders@wearlilu.com
- Q: Interesting company. Following.
- Q: Hello, love the product - I have a couple of questions: - In regard to the 300+ lactation consultant you refer to, are they all certified? - In terms of the data you used to determine 30-50% increase in supply - was this measured using the new sensor? If not how was the supply measured?
  - A: We really appreciate your kind words, Lesleigh. - The 300+ lactation experts who endorsed Lilu includes certified lactation consultants (IBCLCs and CLCs), doulas and midwives who work very closely with new moms to help with during their postpartum journey. - The data around the efficacy of our massage technology was measured through a pilot with our debut product, the Lilu Massage Bra, that followed a rigorous protocol designed by a leading lactation expert. This pilot included 40+ moms and we analyzed over 950 pumping sessions that were logged via a logging form. We analyzed milk output volume while moms used their standard breast pumps without our massager vs with our massager and noticed that moms pumped up to 55% more milk on average with our massage technology. This study was done 3 years ago, so we did not use our new sensor. But this was also the inception of the idea of the sensors, because we realized that there are no good solutions out there that allow moms to track their milk production consistently and efficiently. We'd be happy to share further information about the study or the MilkSense smart bra — you can reach out to me at sujay@wearlilu.com.
- Q: too bad I am just seeing this company. I recently invested in products centered around babies and this would have been a great addition. good luck to your guys!