The Hera Fertility founder says sperm health has been ignored for too long, even though male factors are involved in roughly half of fertility cases.
The fertility conversation has been missing half the room, and Thiv Paramsothy wants men brought into it much earlier.
Couples are having children later. Fertility is discussed more openly than it was a generation ago. More people know about egg freezing, IVF, hormone testing, and reproductive timelines. Yet the male side of the equation is still too often treated as an afterthought. The woman gets tested first. The woman carries the visible medical burden. The woman is often asked to move through invasive procedures before anyone runs a basic semen analysis on her partner.
Paramsothy thinks that default is backward.
“Men are part of roughly half of fertility cases, but they are usually evaluated last, if they are evaluated at all,” he says. “That does not make clinical sense. It costs couples time, money, and emotional energy they should not have to lose.”
That belief is the foundation of Hera Fertility, the company Paramsothy founded to make it easier for men to get tested and understand their sperm health. Hera combines testing with machine-learning models to help interpret semen analysis results, but the company’s larger mission begins with a cultural problem. Men often do not know where to start.
Many do not have a primary care doctor who will order a semen analysis. Many feel embarrassed asking for help. Some assume fertility is only a woman’s health issue. Others finally get a result and have no idea what it means.
“Getting men tested is only the first barrier,” Paramsothy says. “The next problem is helping them understand the result without shame, confusion, or vague advice.”
The category became personal for him during the sale of his previous company, Adracare, which was acquired by WELL Health Technologies. Paramsothy asked his co-founder what he planned to do with the proceeds. His co-founder said he was using the money to have a child.
At first, Paramsothy was confused. Then he started asking questions. He spoke with more men his age and saw how many were quietly dealing with fertility concerns without a clear place to go. Some were trying to understand testing. Some were navigating treatment. Some were supporting partners while never being asked to examine their own role in the process.
“That conversation cracked the category open for me,” he says. “Once I saw it, I started seeing it everywhere. Men were affected, but the system was not really built to bring them in early.”
The timing matters. Sperm counts have dropped roughly 60 percent globally over the past 50 years, a trend sometimes called the spermapocalypse. Paramsothy does not talk about that number to create panic. He sees it as evidence of a long-ignored health signal finally becoming harder to dismiss.
“The data has been there for decades,” he says. “What is changing now is that men are getting more cultural permission to ask questions, and the testing infrastructure is finally starting to catch up.”
He also wants men to understand that sperm health is not always a fixed verdict. Lifestyle, nutrition, supplements, medication changes, and broader health factors can influence sperm health over a three to four-month window. That does not mean every case is simple, and it does not mean every issue can be solved quickly. It does mean men should not treat one confusing result as the end of the conversation.
Paramsothy sees sperm health as part of a larger health picture. Semen analysis can reflect what is happening cardiovascularly, metabolically, and hormonally. A decline in sperm quality can sometimes be an early sign that something else deserves attention.
“This is about fatherhood, but it is also about men’s health,” he says. “If sperm health gets men to engage earlier with their bodies, that is a bigger public health opportunity.”
Hera was built to meet that moment with more than a slick consumer test. Paramsothy is wary of fertility products that use wellness-style marketing without enough clinical depth behind them. He wants Hera to make testing easier, but he also wants men to receive clearer guidance after the test, not another confusing report they have to decode alone.
Hera’s SmartScore model is part of that effort, helping make sperm health results easier to interpret while the company continues validation work through the Mayo Clinic Platform Accelerate program. Hera has raised almost one million dollars from notable investors including Techstars, Prosper Health, Mayo Clinic, DSH Accelerator, and law firm Orrick, alongside physicians and founders.
That background matters because Paramsothy has built in regulated health care before. With Adracare, he worked in a market where products had to interact with doctors, patients, and real clinical operations. He learned that speed matters, but trust matters more.
“Consumer health can move fast, but fertility is not a casual category,” he says. “People are making emotional, medical, and financial decisions. The tools have to respect that.”
Paramsothy’s long-term vision is simple to state and difficult to build. He wants sperm health to become as routine as a cholesterol check. Every man should know where he stands early and accurately. Fertility clinics, sperm banks, and donor programs should have stronger infrastructure for testing and interpretation. Couples should not have to spend months guessing before the male side of the equation is taken seriously.
That is the shift Hera is trying to push forward. Not panic. Not gimmicks. Not another health trend dressed up as empowerment. Just a better way to bring men into a conversation they should have been part of from the beginning.
“Men need to stop seeing fertility as something that happens around them,” Paramsothy says. “They are part of the equation. The earlier they understand that, the better it is for them, their partners, and the families they are trying to build.”
For more information on Hera Fertility, visit their website.