While traditional sleep earbuds have focused on noise masking and delivering soothing sounds, a Boston-based startup named SOND is pioneering a novel approach. The company is introducing a new generation of earbuds engineered to actively intervene and foster improved sleep quality.
SOND, founded by two MIT graduates—one of whom previously served as Bose’s Head of Global Sleep—emerged from stealth this Wednesday, announcing $7 million in funding. Alongside this financial milestone, the company unveiled its inaugural product: Dreambuds. This closed-loop, in-ear system is designed to capture 12 distinct physiological signals from the wearer and respond to them in real-time, aiming to optimize the user’s sleep experience.
The initial $7 million investment was secured from a notable group of backers, including the MIT-affiliated E14 Fund, Crosslink Capital, Ubiquity Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Meach Cove Capital, and Boston Scientific co-founder, John Abele.
The Dreambuds meticulously monitor a range of signals, such as respiration, heart rate variability, cardiorespiratory coupling, sleep staging, body position, snoring, and seismocardiography (SCG), which measures the mechanical vibrations of the chest wall produced by the heart's beating.
This comprehensive sensor data is streamed in real-time to a cloud-based AI sleep coach. This intelligent system then either selects an existing sleep audio program or dynamically generates one, continuously learning and adapting over time to identify what works most effectively for each individual user.
Users can engage directly with the AI sleep coach through voice commands, requesting personalized sleep insights or selecting specific programs from SOND’s extensive proprietary library of over 500 audio options. For those who prefer, the charging case also facilitates streaming podcasts. The AI coach is also capable of generating custom audio content, such as a themed sleep story, upon request.
Notably, the startup was co-founded and is led by CEO Yadid Ayzenberg, whose prior role at Bose as Head of Sleep Products involved launching the Bose Sleepbuds 2 and managing their sleep product portfolio. Ayzenberg recognized a significant opportunity when Bose strategically exited the sleep business, leading him to establish SOND in February 2022, dedicated to innovating in this specific market segment.
“I had spent, at this time, a significant amount of time around physiology, around sensors, around audio…I was meant to do this,” Ayzenberg shared with TechCrunch, while seated at an outdoor cafe with co-founder and CTO Amir Lazarovich, a former senior software engineering manager at Google, and their Dreambuds prototype.
The co-founders' paths first crossed at MIT under serendipitous, sleep-related circumstances. Lazarovich, then studying distributed systems, had just moved into a family dorm without a mattress, prompting Ayzenberg to offer him one from his own room. This chance encounter fourteen years ago blossomed into a lasting friendship.
Following his time at MIT, Ayzenberg founded The Sync Project, a startup that innovatively mapped music to physiological indicators like heart rate and heart rate variability. After four years, this venture was acquired by Bose, ultimately paving the way for his involvement in the development of the second generation of Sleepbuds.
Ayzenberg observed that Bose customers frequently desired more from their Sleepbuds than just noise cancellation; they sought integrated sensors to track and enhance their sleep. At that time, the technology wasn't advanced enough to integrate numerous sensors into a compact, AirPods-like form factor while maintaining sufficient battery life. However, by the time Bose decided to discontinue its sleep wearables, significant technological advancements had made such integration feasible.
Despite his background, Ayzenberg emphasized that Dreambuds should not be perceived as a continuation or "Bose Dreambuds III." He suggested that competitor Ozlo’s earbuds are a more accurate representation of what Bose’s next step might have been.
“We did something entirely different. Maybe the form factor is an earbud, but that’s where it ends,” he asserted, highlighting the fundamental divergence in their approach.
The Dreambuds system is designed to operate autonomously, without the need for a connected smartphone. Its charging case is equipped with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, an OLED display, physical buttons, and a speaker. The integrated speaker serves a practical purpose, allowing users to be woken by an alarm even if they fall asleep before inserting the earbuds.
This design philosophy aims to eliminate the user's reliance on their phone for controlling their sleep technology system.
“We have a running joke — we say giving an insomniac a phone is like running an AA meeting in a liquor store,” Ayzenberg quipped. “The idea here is that all you do is take the buds out and they’ll resume your sleep plan. You can also switch to other sleep plans. And you can talk to the coach, just double-tap and say, ‘I’m having trouble sleeping. I want this, or I want that.’”
The AI sleep coach leverages its understanding of a user’s past performance to address specific sleep challenges, recommending tailored solutions such as breathing exercises, calming tracks, soundscapes, or binaural beats. Ayzenberg clarified that the AI coach will only engage in conversation if actively prompted by a double-tap gesture, a design choice made to prevent startling or unsettling users.
Lazarovich further elaborated that the AI coach's responses are context-aware. “For example, if you engage right before bedtime, it would ask you, ‘Are you ready to wind down?’ But if you engage after you woke up, it would ask you ‘How was your night?’,” he explained.
Beyond the auditory feedback from the AI coach, Dreambuds owners can delve deeper into their sleep patterns by reviewing detailed data and hypnograms (sleep cycle graphs) within the accompanying smartphone application.
The earbuds themselves feature a distinctive aesthetic, with sensors intentionally positioned externally to form an artistic pattern, rather than being concealed. The buds also incorporate wide-frequency drivers for high-fidelity audio, alongside microphones and sensors dedicated to motion detection.
Having successfully conducted several comfort studies and beta tests, SOND is now targeting mass production of the Dreambuds by Q2 2026. This timeline follows an upcoming crowdfunding campaign intended to secure additional capital. Currently, the company is accepting reservations for Dreambuds via its official website.
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