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| Hello's Sense sleep monitor--Courtesy of Hello |
Singapore's state investment company just led an ongoing $40 million financing round supporting Hello, maker of the Sense sleep monitor, demonstrating growing interest in health and fitness-related gadgets among investors, if not the general public.
The news comes as fitness monitoring company FitBit ups the ante on its IPO, expected this week. It aims to raise $621 million by selling 34.5 million shares at a price range of $17 to $19. That's above its previously stated 29.9 million shares at $14 to $16.
Hello hopes to emulate FitBit's success by correlating its customers' sleep patterns with data about the environment, such as noise, light, temperature, humidity and particles in the air. The two-part device consists of a sensor for collecting data about the room, as well as the Sleep Pill, which attaches to pillows and measures sleep patterns using an accelerometer and gyroscope.
An Android app displays the customer's "sleep score" and other metrics about the customer's sleep patterns and room environment. The goal is to provide information about room conditions and other variables that can then be adjusted to optimize sleep quality.
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| Hello founder James Proud |
Adding to the company's allure is its founder, James Proud. He taught himself to code at the age of 9, and skipped going to college in the U.K. to join a fellowship scheme aimed at bringing bright and talented people to Silicon Valley, The Financial Times reports. Proud sold his first company, Gigolocator, for around $1 million in 2012, and used the money to start Hello, now in its third year of existence.
But it is the product, not Proud, that ultimately interests investors like Singapore's state-owned Temasek, as well other funders, including leaders of technology titans like Google ($GOOG), PayPal, Spotify, Facebook ($FB) and up-and-coming Chinese smartphone maker Xiamomi.
"We see opportunities in the tech sector which cater to our investment themes, particularly those around the growth of middle income populations and their demand for consumer and technology products," Temasek told The Financial Times, which reports that the investment company doesn't usually back early-stage companies like three-year-old Hello.
The Temasek transaction values the company at $250 million.
Hello's also used other new-era funding methods. The company's Kickstarter page says it raised $2.4 million from 19,349 backers by August 2014. In May, the company finished shipping the Sense to all U.S. backers and began making shipments to international backers.
The product is commercially available for $129.
- read the article in The Financial Times