Sleep Cycle AB (publ) (STO: SLEEP) (FRA: 1CW) is launching a clinical assessment on its smartphone app’s latest feature before it gets released. The Swedish snooze tech developer has created a sleep apnea screening system that also monitors those with the condition throughout the night to offer insights.
The research will be conducted at a clinic in Brisbane, Australia with 700 participants. It officially started on Monday.
Sleep Cycle’s Chief Scientific Officer and artificial intelligence expert, Mikael Kågebäck, will be leading the study.
“Unlike traditional methods, our solution analyzes sound in a context-aware manner, enabling detection of potential sleep apnea signs without intrusive wearables or sensors,” Kågebäck explained. The smartphone app does it work completely wirelessly.
Sleep Cycle aims to capitalize on the steadily growing sleep apnea diagnostics market with its new mobile screening tool. Its valuation is expected to increase by over US$250 million within the next 10 years, according to the company.
“By enabling sleep apnea screening using nothing but an iPhone, we’re not just breaking clinical barriers—we’re unlocking a scalable opportunity to transform lives and redefine the digital health market,” commented CEO Erik Jivmark.
Sleep Cycle’s mobile app currently features a smart alarm clock tool that wakes users up during light sleep phases to make the start of their day easier. It also tracks sleep stages to provide informative data, has a sleep aid feature that uses “science-backed music designed to lull you to dreamland” and records noises users make while they are dreaming.
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Sleep Cycle recently had a royal visit
The multi-purpose sleep app creator was recently graced by Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland — a member of the Swedish royal family.
Daniel was joined by a group of entrepreneurs and business leaders from his Prins Daniels Fellowship — run through a collaboration with the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences.
“I was constantly hammered with insightful questions and creative ideas,” Kågebäck said at the time, “the room was boiling with enthusiasm and energy.”
“We had the opportunity to showcase the incredible work our team is doing — especially in the fields of AI and reinforcement learning,” Sleep Cycle said in a social media post about the visit in early April.
Sleep Cycle was founded in 2009, launching the world’s first smart alarm clock app. By the following year over one million people had downloaded it and by 2012 more than five million were utilizing the app for their early morning regimen.
The company’s founder, Maciek Drejak, was inspired to create the application because he was sick of waking up feeling groggy.
Sleep Cycle’s operating profit shot up by about 23.5 per cent year-over-year in Q1 at approximately US$1.61 million.
Prince Daniel (centre), Kågebäck (right) at the office in Gothenburg. Photo credit: Sleep Cycle
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