Summary:
Fast Company’s 2024 Next Big Thing in Tech list recognized three sleep technology innovators for their advancements in improving sleep quality, managing hot flashes, and detecting sleep apnea. The honorees include Somnee, for its smart sleep headband that uses personalized neuromodulation to improve sleep; Embr Labs, for its wearable device that predicts and stops hot flashes; and Samsung, for its Galaxy Watch Ultra, which offers FDA-authorized sleep apnea detection and advanced sleep coaching.
Key Takeaways:
- Fast Company’s List: Fast Company released its 2024 Next Big Thing in Tech list, featuring 138 honorees selected from over 1,000 applicants across 28 categories.
- Recognition for Sleep Innovation: Fast Company’s list highlights three sleep technology companies making strides in enhancing sleep health through wearable devices and AI-driven solutions.
- Technology with Proven Impact: Honorees include Somnee, which leverages neuromodulation for better sleep; Embr Labs, which predicts and stops hot flashes; and Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Ultra, which integrates sleep apnea detection and personalized coaching.
Media brand Fast Company has released its 2024 Next Big Thing in Tech list, honoring 138 companies spanning 28 categories—and three sleep tech innovators made the cut.
The three sleep-related companies named the fourth-annual list—which garnered well over 1,000 applicants—were:
- Somnee “for nudging the brain to sleep”
- Embr labs “for stopping hot flashes before they start”
- Samsung “for lowering the barriers to safer sleep”
“The Next Big Things in Tech provides a fascinating glimpse at near- and long-term technological breakthroughs across a variety of sectors,” says Brendan Vaughan, editor-in-chief of Fast Company, in a release. “Spanning everything from semiconductors to agricultural gene editing, the companies featured in this year’s list are tackling some of the world’s most pressing and vexing problems.”
Somnee
Somnee is a smart sleep headband that utilizes noninvasive, closed-loop tACS neuromodulation for higher-quality sleep. Somnee stands out in the evolving sleep technology space for its novel closed-loop approach. The consumer device integrates sleep lab-grade technology into a wearable headband, improving sleep through personalized tACS neuromodulation at home.
This therapeutic modality is backed by 22 clinical studies and covered by 24 patents. Studies show that Somnee cuts the time to fall asleep in half and dramatically improves overall sleep quality. It is four times more effective than melatonin, twice more than cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, and 1.5 times more effective than Ambien at improving sleep efficiency and duration.
“By integrating lab-grade EEG+ sensors, proprietary AI/ML models, and a closed-loop system in a sleek headband consumers actually want to wear, we are not only improving sleep onset, but also sleep maintenance/disruptions, and restorative quality sleep,” says Tim Rosa, Somnee CEO, in a release. “This award recognizes our seven-plus years of dedication and progress in validating our science and technology as an effective, scalable solution to an endemic problem.”
Embr Labs
Embr Labs, a health tech company addressing health conditions through temperature, is the maker of Embr Wave, a wrist-worn wearable that utilizes temperature as a new pathway to the brain to manage hot flashes, improve sleep, and manage stress.
The product serves the 1.1 billion women in menopause who desire a natural approach to this important life transition. The product is also utilized by men and women of all ages for thermal comfort, sleep, and stress management.
Embr Labs earned its place on Fast Company’s esteemed list for developing the technology to predict and stop hot flashes with an AI-powered, wearable cooling device. Embr’s predictive operation can detect the physiological change that precedes a hot flash and uses that signal to automatically deploy a cooling intervention. This solution is possible through Embr’s patented technology that provides immediate cooling from a Bluetooth-connected device the size of a smartwatch.
“We are thrilled to be recognized by Fast Company,” says Sam Shames, COO and co-founder of Embr Labs, in a release. “This award highlights Embr as a leader in the emerging category of wearable technology that directly delivers an intervention. Embr’s technology can predict and stop a hot flash by deploying physiologically optimized temperature waveforms to stimulate the unique properties of thermoreceptors to dampen down the overactivation of the sympathetic nervous system.”
Samsung
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Ultra is the company’s latest step to help users better understand their health and give them the tools to meet their goals.
The watch now offers a De Novo FDA-authorized Sleep Apnea feature to check for potential signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea, and its newly designed BioActive Sensor more accurately measures key health metrics during exercise and sleep. Advanced sleep coaching and a new Sleep AI algorithm analyze sleep patterns and offer tips designed to improve rest.
Galaxy Watch Ultra also powers the new Energy Score feature in the free Samsung Health App to help users gain a better understanding of their daily condition through a Galaxy AI-powered analysis of personal health metrics.
“Winning a Next Big Things in Tech award is a recognition of how Galaxy Watch Ultra has raised the bar for mobile innovation,” says Drew Blackard, vice president of mobile product management for Samsung Electronics America, in a release. “This is the first-generation Galaxy Watch Ultra, but it builds on the entire legacy of the Galaxy Watch series as well as the designation of Ultra—which we reserve for only the most groundbreaking devices. Galaxy Watch Ultra certainly lives up to both of these iconic standards by offering a powerful and intuitive experience, enhanced by AI, for next-level health and fitness tracking.”
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