Cambridge-based OW Smell Made Digital, which developed a digital smell technology that provides full digital control over the scent, has secured a £2.2 million pre-series A funding round from Parkwalk Advisors and Innovate UK. The investment will enable OW to license its AI platform and hardware technology to industry partners, who will deliver personalized scents for enhancing sleep.
- Founded in 2019 by Emanuela Maggioni and Marianna Obrist, the startup began as a project at the University of Sussex and is affiliated with University College London. OW Smell Made Digital develops a digital platform that combines AI, scent databases, and new hardware to print and deliver scents.
“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," CEO, CTO, and Co-Founder at OW Smell Made Digital, Dr Emanuela Maggioni, commented.
- OW’s scent technology has been tested and approved by experts. It’s already being used in healthcare and research settings, as well as in R&D programs by major companies, including FMCGs.
Details of the deal
- Parkwalk Advisors led the investment. It is a venture capital firm that supports tech startups that come from the UK’s top universities and research institutions in areas such as life sciences, AI, quantum computing, advanced materials, genomics, cleantech, future mobility, medtech, and big data.
“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," Chief Investment Officer at Parkwalk Advisors, John Pearson, stated.
- OW Smell Made Digital also received a £0.7 million grant from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, through its Investor Partnerships Programme.
- The fresh investment will allow OW to perform extensive validation studies for sleep interventions, train its AI algorithms using biofeedback, and invest in intellectual property. This funding will support their current patents and pending applications in sleep tech and other areas.
