A Cambridge startup claiming it can use AI and scent databases to “print smells” to improve sleep has raised £2.2m in a joint equity and grant round.
Founded in 2019, OW Smell Made Digital first launched as a spinout from the University of Sussex developing technology to digitally transmit scents.
The company, which raised a £1m investment in 2022, had early plans to bring smells to the metaverse.
Metaverse fever may have died down somewhat since its last raise, however, OW Smell Made Digital said there remain significant market applications for its platform.
Now backed by new funding, OW is looking into how its scent tech can be deployed to improve sleep, a market worth over $500bn globally, according to Emergen Research.
The startup said scientific research is increasingly finding that scents make a very real impact on the experience of sleep, based on studies via biofeedback devices.
OW plans to license its platform and hardware to industry partners to develop personalised sleep-enhancing scents.
“Smell can be our most powerful sense and only now are we realising the potential of technology to translate it for experience, welfare and health,” said OW co-founder, CTO and CEO Emanuela Maggioni.
“This technology has enormous commercial applications which this new investment will help us unlock.”
The pre-Series A investment was led by Parkwalk Advisors and also included a £700,000 grant from Innovate UK.
“OW is a fantastic example of the cutting-edge technology created in UK universities,” said Parkwalk Advisors chief investment officer John Pearson.
“OW is helping to bring the experience of smell in line with major advances in both video and sound. Digitalising smell and delivering personalised scents into homes is a major step forward in immersive experiences and has vast potential.”