Peanut has secured £9.6m funding.
The London start-up aims to become leading women’s social network around the world following the round led by the EQT Ventures fund, with Index Ventures and Female Founders Fund also participating.
It is more than double the previous investment raised.
Michelle Kennedy, former deputy CEO at dating app Badoo, founded the business in 2017 to help mothers chat and meet up with other local mums. It has since added a tool to support women who are trying to conceive.
It now plans to add support for women going through the menopause.
Naza Metghalchi of EQT Ventures and Index Ventures’ Hannah Seal will join Peanut’s board.
Lyle Fong, Partner at EQT Ventures, will also use his expertise in community-focused products to aid growth.
“We’re thrilled to welcome EQT Ventures, Naza Metghalchi and Lyle Fong to our existing roster of backers,” said Kennedy.
“Lyle’s unprecedented experience of building and scaling community-focused products will be vital as we undertake our next stage of growth in raising the bar in terms of product excellence as we enter new communities beyond fertility and motherhood.”
Metghalchi said: “Peanut’s user engagement metrics are a testament to the app’s ability to act as a true emotional companion throughout women’s journeys.
“The EQT Ventures team is excited to partner with Michelle and continue to grow Peanut into a platform that serves all women at different life milestones, exploring topics beyond fertility and motherhood which have already seen such huge traction.“
Peanut’s community has grown from a million users in December 2019 to 1.6m in April, a rise it attributes to concerns around COVID-19 and its ability “to provide a safe and supportive environment for women during this unprecedented time”.