40-42 Hatton
Garden London
EC1N 8EB
At Accelerate Ventures, we often talk about the movement of people using technology to measure every step, heartbeat, and calorie. We have become experts at tracking our problems, but remain relatively poor at solving them.
We believe nowhere is this gap more apparent than in sleep. Despite being a core pillar of human health, sleep remains a global crisis hiding in plain sight. We are often tired and living in environments noisier than ever before.
This is why we are thrilled to announce our investment in Ozlo Sleep. Ozlo are building the technology to help you sleep better, and have just announced their exciting Sleepbuds 2.
Sleep deprivation is a public health priority with major economic consequences. The data paints a clear picture of a silent epidemic:
The Global Shortfall: 1 in 3 adults are sleep-deprived, and 62% of adults report they don’t sleep well even when they try
The Economic Toll: Sleep-related productivity drops cost the U.S. $411 billion annually, while the UK loses an estimated £40 billion
The International Upside: The crisis is acute in emerging markets; India is the world’s second most sleep-deprived nation, and 19% of people in China experience poor sleep quality
Despite this, the sleep tech market has been dominated by devices that tell you what happened after you wake up. There is a massive white space for a Category King that doesn’t just measure the problem, but fundamentally solves it.
Ozlo is building a restoration platform, going beyond another data-tracker. Their new Sleepbuds 2, building on the immensely popular Sleepbuds 1, are engineered for the 60% of people who identify as side-sleepers, featuring an ultra-small low profile design for all-night comfort.
Ozlo’s buds are equipped with a “Fade-to-Silence” technology. The buds detect exactly when a user has drifted off and automatically transition from external content (podcasts or meditations) to science-backed, noise-masking soundscapes. The buds work with the smart case, tracking room conditions and turning nightly sleep into personalised insights over time. The product addresses the two primary killers of rest: a racing mind and a noisy environment.
With more than 200,000 customers, a next-gen device just released and a landmark partnership with Calm, Ozlo is becoming the preferred hardware for the world’s most trusted sleep content.
We see Ozlo’s current product as the entry point into a much larger health-tech ecosystem. The ear canal provides a significantly cleaner biometric signal than the wrist, and so Ozlo is potentially uniquely positioned to transition from a nice-to-have consumer device to a highly useful clinical tool. By leveraging their sensors for future tinnitus relief and sleep apnea detection, Ozlo can move toward being an owner of the nighttime category. The key for the company now is educating the market on the benefits of its products.
At Accelerate Ventures, we look for founder-market fit. The Ozlo team, led by CEO N.B. Patil and co-founders Charles Taylor and Brian Mulcahey, helped invent this category.
When Bose exited the sleep earbuds category, this team recognised that the mission wasn’t finished. They left Bose and acquired the foundational patents and IP, bringing decades of audio heritage to a lean, mission-driven startup environment. We think they have the grit to tackle the world’s hardest physiological problem, evidenced by living its first iteration.
We have the data that helps us understand our sleep deficit; Ozlo is providing the technology to close it. As a London-based fund with a global outlook, we see Ozlo as a rare triple threat: a world-class team, a proprietary moat, and a product that is solving a universal human pain point.
We are thrilled to partner with a team that has the vision and the technical heritage to help turn a global crisis into a solved problem.
NHLBI: What Are Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency?
Philips: The global pursuit of better sleep health
RAND: Lack of Sleep Costing UK Economy Up to £40 Billion a Year
Local Circles: India isn’t sleeping well
The Lancet: sleep health in China
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Accelerate Ventures
Accelerate Ventures 40-42 Hatton Garden London EC1N 8EB
