OW Smell Made Digital (OW) has successfully secured £2.2 million in a pre-Series A funding round. This funding includes a £1.5 million investment from Parkwalk Advisors, the leading investor in university spinouts in the UK, and a £0.7 million grant from Innovate UK under its Investor Partnerships Programme. OW aims to transform scent experiences through its pioneering digital platform, integrating artificial intelligence and scent databases to create and deliver custom scents.
OW, established in 2019 as a spinout from the University of Sussex, in association with University College London, has developed technology to redefine how humans experience smell. The company combines artificial intelligence with scent databases and innovative hardware to ‘print’ scents. This digital scent technology represents one of the first platforms globally designed for this purpose.
Enhanced Sleep with Digital Scents
OW’s initial market application focuses on improving sleep quality. Studies show that 74% of adults report poor sleep quality, costing the UK economy an estimated £40 billion annually. OW’s technology uses biofeedback devices, such as smartwatches, to monitor sleep indicators and deliver personalized scents. These scents aim to improve all sleep stages, from falling asleep to waking up.
“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. This technology has enormous commercial applications which this new investment will help us unlock.” — Dr. Emanuela Maggioni, CEO, CTO & Co-Founder
Future Market Applications
OW plans to license its AI platform and hardware technology to industry partners for delivering personalized scents to enhance sleep. While Sleep Tech is the first market-ready application, the company also aims to target numerous other markets, including digital media, retail, immersive events, the automotive industry, and various health-related applications.
In similar news from the past, other companies have explored scent technology for wellness and immersive experiences but struggled with scalability and market adoption. OW’s integration of AI and biofeedback for personalized scents marks a significant evolution. Earlier ventures lacked the advanced AI and biofeedback integration that OW offers, setting it apart in the current market landscape.
OW’s scent technology has already seen validation in academic settings and real-world environments such as healthcare and research. Collaborations with major corporations in R&D further support its credibility. This funding will support OW in conducting extensive validation studies, training AI algorithms with biofeedback, and investing in intellectual property, complementing its patents in Sleep Tech and other areas.
“OW is a fantastic example of the cutting-edge technology created in UK universities. 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.” — John Pearson, Chief Investment Officer at Parkwalk Advisors
By focusing on enhancing sleep quality through innovative scent technology, OW is addressing a significant health issue while unlocking various commercial applications. Their strategic approach to license technology across multiple industries, combined with strong academic and corporate partnerships, positions OW as a leader in the evolving digital scent market. The future holds significant potential for OW’s technology to revolutionize how scents are experienced in daily life and industries.
