Makers of a sleep headband created by neuroscientists, Somnee will work with the NBA to discover the hyperlink between sleep and participant efficiency
Sleep is turning into large enterprise. From wearable tech to good mattresses to luxury hotel offerings, firms of all sizes are getting into the race to assist folks sleep higher for longer, pushing the worldwide sleep market to a projected $950 billion by 2032, per Emergen Analysis.
The NBA is getting on board, too, selecting sleep wearable maker Somnee as a part of its 2025 NBA Launchpad cohort, the basketball league’s “Shark Tank”-style program that places a highlight on rising applied sciences.
Based by a crew of neuroscientists together with College of California, Berkeley, professor and social media persona Dr. Matt Walker, Somnee makes a sleep headband that makes use of EEG sensors to assist folks go to sleep sooner, sleep longer and enhance their sleep high quality.
In late 2023, the corporate hired former Fitbit chief marketing officer Tim Rosa as its CEO, relying on Rosa to construct Somnee into the following large wearable model.
Rosa sat down with Athletech Information to debate Somnee’s new partnership with the NBA and the way the model is utilizing wearable tech to revolutionize the way in which folks world wide sleep.
The next dialog has been evenly edited for readability and size.
Athletech Information: Are you able to inform us about your background and why you determined to affix Somnee in 2023?
Tim Rosa: I began my profession on the model aspect after which acquired recruited over to Sega Sports activities and ESPN Video Video games to run sports activities advertising and marketing. After we acquired acquired, I launched the 2K Sports activities model. NBA 2K was my child, and we grew it from below 7% market share to 100% market share in 5 years. From there, I ended up at Digital Arts and EA Sports activities. I then joined a tiny startup known as Fitbit. We grew Fitbit from the U.S. to 100 nations, promoting round 140 million items throughout my 10 years there and doing the largest IPO in historical past for a client electronics firm. We finally offered to Google.
I then took a while off, once I acquired a name from Vinod Khosla of Khosla Ventures and Dr Matt Walker – most likely probably the most well-known sleep scientist on the planet – who’s the co-founder of Somnee. They known as a couple of CEO alternative. I really struggled with grownup insomnia – I used to be taking THC and CBD edibles to assist me go to sleep, which I’ve since realized are dangerous. I mentioned, “Look, I don’t know that a lot about (sleep science). But when this factor works, I’ll be open to it.” Throughout my third Somnee session, I fell asleep with it on.
ATN: What have your early priorities been since taking up as Somnee’s CEO?
TR: I’m deeply keen about client experiences. Our gen-one product is nice, and the know-how is wonderful, nevertheless it seemed like a bunch of engineers and scientists had assembled it for a “Star Trek” episode. It was scientists talking to scientists. I mentioned, let me relaunch the model, as a result of now we have the chance to scale to normal inhabitants customers. We’ll be rolling out some new merchandise this yr. I can’t speak about it in an excessive amount of element but, nevertheless it’ll be a game-changer for the class.
ATN: At a excessive degree, how does Somnee assist folks get higher sleep?
TR: We’re like a sleep lab for the bed room. We’re taking the know-how that Dr. Matt Walker and our scientists use at UC Berkeley, and we’ve miniaturized it right into a product that not solely helps with sleep onset, however helps with sleep upkeep in addition to general high quality.
We use what we name EEG-plus, which primarily maps your mind, as a result of each mind is totally different. What we’re making an attempt to do is determine every particular person’s optimum state for sleep. That takes about 21 classes as a result of there are totally different phases: mapping, personalization and optimization (adaptive). By the tip of that, we’re affecting your potential to go to sleep, your potential to remain asleep and your general high quality of sleep. So it’s a novel product, and fairly groundbreaking.
ATN: What was it prefer to be chosen as a part of the NBA Launchpad program?
TR: I’ve an virtually 20-year relationship with the NBA (relationship again to Rosa’s time in video video games). Once I was at Fitbit, I brokered one of many very first jersey patch offers with the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was an superior partnership and relationship. Throughout that point, I met (NBA govt) Tom Ryan. He reached out to me a number of months in the past and mentioned, “Hey, I like what you’re doing at Somnee. Would you be open to collaborating on this?”
However it wasn’t one thing they simply gave us. We needed to make a “Shark Tank”-like pitch in entrance of the chief medical officers and trainers for the NBA, G League and WNBA, together with executives and crew representatives. It was actually vital to them that the science was there. Clearly, now we have 4 of probably the most well-known neuroscientists on the planet who based the corporate, so there’s lots of respect that already comes with that. However (the NBA) checked out our medical information and our product roadmap. They love the brand new merchandise and the way these are being positioned. We’ll now do a six-month pilot research with the NBA. Assuming all goes properly – we’re assured the outcomes will probably be good – Somnee will go to referees, coaches, coaching workers and gamers throughout the NBA, WNBA and G League.
ATN: What does partnering with the NBA imply for Somnee – and for the way forward for sleep science?
TR: It’s an ideal validation for us. However the actuality is that our mission goes past sports activities. We’re making an attempt to have an effect on sleep health at each degree with everybody from athletes to shift staff to what we name performance-optimizers. So we’re going to go after a lot larger inhabitants sizes than simply elite athletes.
I additionally suppose it speaks to the significance and affect of sleep. Sleep is a superpower, as Matt says. It impacts your psychological well being, normal well being and bodily well being. There’s a ton of analysis round sleep and athletic efficiency, so the league, brokers and gamers have gotten clever to the significance of high quality sleep.
There’s research exhibiting that sleep can enhance dash occasions (by 4.3%) and taking pictures accuracy by virtually 10%. Andre Iguodala throughout his championship season (in 2014-15) had an enormous enchancment – decreased turnovers, improved taking pictures accuracy and factors per minute – when he went from sleeping less than seven hours a night to over eight hours a night. A product like Somnee is nice, particularly for athletes in leagues just like the NBA and MLB who journey between time zones, which throws off your circadian rhythm.
ATN: Trying forward, what’s your imaginative and prescient for the way forward for Somnee?
TR: Rolling out one of the best merchandise that the sleep class has ever seen – and customers typically have ever seen – that truly assist them obtain their objective of getting higher sleep. I’m actually enthusiastic about the place we’re headed as an organization; that is going to be the primary of many merchandise that now we have in our roadmap. It sort of jogs my memory of once we began at Fitbit. Then, sitting was the brand new smoking. Now, not sleeping is the brand new smoking.
