OW Smell Made Digital has developed proprietary technology that combines artificial intelligence, scent databases and new hardware to create and 'print' scents and deliver them via a digital platform. Its first market application, Sleep Tech, uses biofeedback from devices such as smart watches to detect sleep indicators and deliver personalised scent interventions to improve sleep stages. The company plans to licence its AI platform and hardware to industry partners to deliver personalised scents, initially targeting sleep and later expanding into digital media, retail, immersive events, automotive and health-related markets. OW's technology has been validated by academics and deployed in healthcare and research settings, and has been used in R&D programmes by major corporations including top-tier FMCGs. The startup holds multiple granted and pending patents and intends to invest further in IP as it scales. The recent funding will support extensive validation studies for sleep interventions and additional AI training using biofeedback data. OW Smell Digital was founded in 2019 out of the University of Sussex and University College London by Emanuela Maggioni and Marianna Obrist. The company is developing a system that digitizes the human sense of smell, pairing multi-channel scent-delivery hardware with adaptive, AI-powered cloud software to deliver accurate fragrances to individuals. Its products have been sold globally to support smell testing, consumer-behaviour research, and immersive experiences. OW positions its technology as a deeper channel of interaction for VR/AR, health and wellbeing, and artistic applications. The team says its AI models use an extensive collection of smells to predict perceptual, behavioural, and physiological effects tailored to individuals. OW plans to use new funding to expand the team and continue development of its Scent Delivery Device hardware and supporting software.

Total raised

$5M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Grant

Latest activity

Aug 2024