Femtek rebrands to ‘Kyri’ to strengthen brand and protect IP

Australian healthtech startup Femtek has announced that it’s rebranding to ‘Kyri’ in order to strengthen the brand and protect its intellectual property (IP).

The company was founded by Olivia Orchowski in 2020 and is best known for its Basal Body Ring, which tracks women’s cycles and health metrics.

Orchowski has said the decision to rebrand was made to align better with the company’s evolving mission and to resolve a longstanding IP issue.

“Femtek in its current spelling is not a company name that Australia’s IP office will allow us to trademark,” Orchowski said on LinkedIn.

“We’ve been in a back-and-forth battle for over two years, and they argue that any company in female health tech should be able to use this name.”

This issue posed risks for the company, particularly in a global marketplace, leaving room for copycat products to emerge without protection.

Instead, the company decided to pivot the brand to ‘Kyri’.

According to Orchowski, the name was inspired by the mythical Valkyries and was chosen to better reflect the brand’s values and evolving identity.

“Femtek was the name given to the brand when it was me, myself, and I. As we have evolved, reaffirmed our company values, and brought on investors, it is no longer a name that is reflective of the relationship we want to foster with our customers,” Orchowski said.

“Femtek was born from wittiness and capitalising on SEO, Kyri is born from Valkyries. Just like Valkyries, who were powerful warriors guiding the fallen to greatness, our startup pioneers a path to empower women by leading innovative solutions for their well-being.

“Where Femtek feels clinical and explanatory of what we do, Kyri is something more.”

Orchowski also highlighted how early users of the Basal Body Ring had started calling it the “Femtek ring,” an unintentional naming habit that the company hopes to rebrand will resolve.

The product will now be known as the Kyri Ring, reinforcing the company’s new identity while retaining the core mission of improving women’s health.

The rebrand comes after a $1 million funding round earlier this year, led by Arcanys Ventures and Techstars, along with support from angel investors.

This funding follows a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised over $133,000 and helped the company secure more than 500 active users across Australia, Europe and the US.

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