How Sleepbuds maker Ozlo is building a platform for sleep data

Ozlothe maker of comfortable, easy-to-use Sleepbuds that muffle outside noise so that you can rest better, transforms its product into a platform.

The company’s plan began to take shape last month with the announcement of a partnership between Ozlo and the Calm meditation app. But it shifted gears at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, as the company met with potential partners to expand its reach.

These new partners could help Ozlo access new audiences and build a revenue model beyond consumer-focused hardware and into the profit-rich world of software subscriptions and healthcare. For example, software features using AI or designed to provide relief to users suffering from tinnitus could be offered as premium subscriptions. And the recent acquisition of a neurotechnology startup should help Ozlo move beyond just being a consumer product and enter the medical device market as well.

How Ozlo’s platform ambitions began

Founded by former Bose employees, Ozlo always intended to build an ecosystem, Ozlo co-founder and CEO NB Patil explained on the sidelines of CES.

“From the beginning, we created the iOS and Android SDKs, so our first-party app actually runs on that SDK. That means everything you see in our app can be made available to everyone,” Patil said.

Mental wellness company Calm, for example, uses the SDK to determine whether its sleep and meditation content actually resonates with its customers. While Calm can’t tell from its own app whether customers have fallen asleep, Ozlo’s sensors can. The device detects changes in body movements and breathing rate, and this data is sent to the Ozlo charging case. There, a machine learning algorithm determines whether a person is sleeping or relaxed.

Ozlo’s smart case also has other sensors, including a temperature sensor and a light sensor that can add more data.

Now this information can be shared with apps like Calm and others.

For example, if a user started doing a breathing exercise, Ozlo could know if their breathing rate had decreased and share that data with their partner. If the exercise fails, the partner will know that they need to change their pattern or do something different.

“So there are two parts,” Patil notes. “Take real-time action when the customer reaches the desired state [which Ozlo does with its feature that can shut off sounds after the user falls asleep] and the other part, which is actually very important – which content creators don’t really think about – is: are they investing in the right content?

Patil explains that content creators for these types of meditation and sleep aid apps tend to invest in volume without measuring whether their content is effective or not.

“They actually don’t understand how it works on the ground because there’s no data,” he says.

This relationship could also add another revenue stream to Ozlo’s business beyond hardware sales. For example, if a customer is asked to upgrade their subscription to the partner’s product, Ozlo could take a cut of that transaction.

Patil told TechCrunch that the company is already in discussions with other sleep and meditation apps, but this closed-loop feedback system could be used with any type of content, including therapy or even audiobooks.

Ozlo is also working on tinnitus treatment tools to solve the earring problem that affects 15% of its customers. The company partnered with Walter Reed Hospital last year to launch a clinical study of the problem and found that playing the correct masking frequency for several weeks can trick the brain into stopping the irritating signals producing the ringtones.

Patil says the tinnitus therapies will be available via subscription and will be rolled out in the second quarter of 2026.

AI to help you sleep better

Ozlo is also working to expand the information it provides to its own customers, and AI is playing an increasingly important role. The company launched Sleep Patterns in its app in November to help clients understand how much and how well they slept, what their habits have been over the past few weeks, and what factors might disrupt their rest.

This year, Ozlo plans to introduce an AI agent that customers can text with and use as a “sleep buddy.” (The company revealed the name “Buddy” for its AI agent in an Easter egg within the app. The app displays an animated character – “Buddy” – that appears at the top of the screen when you open and close the case five times in a row.)

By integrating with other wearable devices and Apple’s HealthKit, Ozlo will be able to better understand a user’s habits and what they need to sleep better. It also wants to be able to connect to IoT devices, such as smart thermostats, to set the right sleeping temperature for users as soon as they open the case at night.

AI features are expected in the second quarter.

New hardware and EEG information on the way

Ozlo’s next generation case will solve the problem of earbuds sometimes not being properly seated in the charger.

“We changed the contours inside the case – when you place [the sleepbud]it’s perfect. And then we will have a Bluetooth button to do the pairing,” says Patil.

Additionally, the new device will feature a redesigned antenna and extender for improved range, and add an amplifier to increase earphone volume to drown out plane and train noise, if necessary. This updated hardware will also arrive in the second quarter.

In terms of products, Ozlo will launch a bedside speaker in the second quarter that will offer similar functionality to Sleepbuds, but will not need to be placed in the ear. A 4×6-inch speaker would also have its own sensor, allowing it to do things like track how many times you woke up to go to the bathroom, or alert others if you fell.

The speaker would allow the company to market its products to families with children under the age of 13, as children are not advised to wear headphones at night. This could also make sense for older adults who aren’t as tech savvy and don’t want to mess with in-ear devices.

Like the Popular Hatch alarm clockOzlo is working on adding a light to a product in the future to gently wake you up. (Launch schedule is still being determined.)

The acquisition game

Acquisitions are also part of Ozlo’s growth strategy.

The Boston company, which employs 60 people, has just acquired Segoya, an Irish neurotechnology company focused on EEGwho built “audible” technologies. Ozlo believes this will allow him to bring brain-level information to his consumer device and later develop tools to intervene in real-time sleep.

“Basically, we custom design the tip that’s going to measure the electrical signals from your ear. From that, actually, you can infer the delta signals from the brain, and you should be able to tell what your brain is doing when it’s falling asleep, or when it’s consciousness, and all that,” Patil explained.

A product incorporating EEG technology will be launched in 2027, allowing the company to also enter the field of medical products.

With the busy year ahead, Ozlo will need to execute each new feature and product well and quickly in order to maintain its current pace and expand its customer base. It will also need additional capital. Patil told TechCrunch that the company is in the process of closing a Series B round, with more details coming in the coming month.