Somnee – a leader in sleep technology delivering pioneering AI-powered neurotech and software – announced it has raised $10 million in a seed extension round. Somnee was launched in 2022 by renowned sleep expert, Dr. Matt Walker, PhD, and a group of scientists from the University of California, Berkeley. The funding round was led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Marc Benioff’s TIME Ventures, LEAD VC (founded by the Adidas family), the NBA’s Orlando Magic ownership group (DeVos family), Seaside Ventures, Nelstone Ventures, and Metalab, among others.
Problem being addressed: Sleep is one of the most powerful levers for health, longevity, and performance. Despite one-third of our lives being asleep, nearly one in three adults suffer from poor sleep, ranging from insufficient deep sleep to insomnia. Based on decades of sleep research and neuroscience, Somnee has developed an AI-powered headband that helps individuals fall asleep faster and maintain higher-quality sleep for longer.
Somnee utilizes proprietary electroencephalogram (EEG+) and AI technology to map each user’s brain activity and deliver gentle and personalized stimulation that guides the brain into its natural sleep state. Somnee helped users fall asleep twice as fast, stay asleep over 30 minutes longer, and reduce tossing and turning by a third. It outperforms melatonin by four times, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-i) by two times, and Ambien by one-and-a-half times. Its therapeutic modality is backed by clinical studies and covered by 24 patents.
How the funding will be used: The new funds will support Somnee as it prepares to launch the second-generation of its smart sleep headband, featuring its proprietary SmartSleep AI operating system, which enables personalized brain mapping, real-time monitoring, and AI-based interventions throughout the sleep cycle. The second-generation product is currently in a beta pilot with select NBA teams and their performance training staff.
This funding follows a milestone year for the company, including its selection for the NBA’s 2025 Launchpad program, which supports the development of technologies that advance player health and performance, and winning best sleep technology awards.
Tim Rosa as CEO: Since joining 18 months ago, CEO Tim Rosa has led efforts to relocate manufacturing out of China and expand teams in Berkeley and India, enhance the company’s next-generation hardware and proprietary SmartSleep AI operating system, and signed partnerships with Equinox Hotels and the NBA. And Somnee is currently exploring additional partnerships with professional sports organizations, employers, and healthcare brands to build upon existing research linking sleep quality to athletic performance, employee productivity, and human longevity.
KEY QUOTES:
“Enhanced sleep can radically improve happiness, energy, and purpose. As such, Somnee isn’t just a health product: it’s a tool for better leadership, deeper compassion, and smarter decisions. It’s been a critical element of my sleep hygiene since they launched, and I was a customer long before Tim reached out to invest in their pioneering tech.”
Marc Benioff, founder of TIME Ventures and Chair, Founder & CEO of Salesforce
“Sleep is the cheapest, most underused longevity drug we have. Few factors impact health more critically. Whereas others attempt to track sleep, Somnee’s uniquely non-invasive and drug-free approach tunes it every night with a headband as effortlessly as brushing your teeth. That’s why we backed them from day zero.”
Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures
“We began building this technology to explore a provocative question: could a sleep aid communicate in the same electrical dialect as the brain itself? That is, an ‘electroceutical,’ not a pharmaceutical. We’re trying to speak to the brain in its own language – using gentle, precisely timed pulses of electricity, not unlike how a conductor uses subtle hand movements to guide an orchestra into harmony. The goal was to create what I call a ‘blast radius’ of benefit: deeper sleep, more efficient sleep, and a quicker descent into sleep itself by preparing the brain just before sleep, we’re trying to drive more powerful deep-sleep brainwaves, and give you a faster entry into sleep to begin with.”
Dr. Matt Walker
