Ozlomanufacturers of comfortable, easy to use “sleepbuds”. drowned out the outside noise so you can rest better, turn your product into a platform.
The company’s plan began to take shape at the end of the month with the announcement of a a partnership between Ozlo and the Calm meditation app. But it kicked into high gear at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week as the company met with potential partners to expand its reach.
The new partner could help Ozlo reach new audiences and build its revenue model beyond consumer-focused hardware and into the lucrative world of software and healthcare subscriptions. For example, software features that use AI or are designed to provide relief to users with tinnitus may be offered as a premium subscription. And the recent acquisition of the neurotech startup should help Ozlo expand beyond consumer products to enter the medical device market.
How Ozlo’s platform ambitions began
Founded by former Bose employees, Ozlo has always aimed to build an ecosystem, Ozlo co-founder and CEO NB Patil explained on the sidelines of CES.
“The way we’ve done it since the beginning is we’ve built iOS and Android SDKs — so our first-party apps actually run on those SDKs. That means anything you see in our apps is available to anyone,” Patil said.
Mental health company Calm, for example, is using its SDK to tell whether its sleep and meditation content is actually right for its customers. While Tenang can’t tell from its own app that a customer is asleep, Ozlo’s sensor can. The device detects how your body movements and breathing rate change, and the data is sent to the Ozlo charging case. There, a machine learning algorithm determines whether a person is sleeping or relaxing.
The Ozlo smart case also has other sensors, including a temperature sensor and a light sensor that can add more data.
Now, that information can be shared with apps like Calm and others.
For example, if the user starts a breathing exercise, Ozlo can recognize that the breathing rate has decreased and share this data with his partner. If the training is not successful, the partner will know that he needs to change the pattern or do something different.
“So there are two parts,” notes Patil. “Take real-time action when the customer gets the desired state (which Ozlo does with a feature that can turn off the sound after the user sleeps) and the other part, which is very important, in fact – which makes the content unthinkable – 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 the content is effective or not.
“They don’t know, actually, how it works in the field because there’s no data,” he said.
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 a partner product, Ozlo can take a portion of the transaction.
Patil told TechCrunch that the company has been in discussions with other sleep and meditation apps, but this closed-loop feedback system could work with any content, including therapy or even audiobooks.
Ozlo is also working on a tinnitus therapy tool to address ear problems that affect 15% of its customer base. The company partnered with Walter Reed Hospital last year to start a clinical study on the problem and found that playing the right masking frequency at night for several weeks can trick the brain into stopping the irritating signals that produce ringing noises.
Patil said the tinnitus therapy will be available via subscription and will be launched in the second quarter of 2026.
AI to help you sleep better
Ozlo is also working to expand the insights it provides to its own customers, and AI is an increasingly important part of it. Company launched Sleep Patterns in the app in November to help customers understand how long and how long they slept, what their patterns were over the past week, and what factors may interfere with their rest.
This year, Ozlo plans to introduce an AI agent that can be sent with customers and used as a “sleeping companion.” (The company announced the name “friend” for the AI agent in an Easter egg in the app. The app features an animated character – “friend” – that opens at the top of the screen when opening and closing a case five times in a row.)
By integrating with other wearable devices and Apple’s HealthKit, Ozlo will be able to better understand user patterns and what they need to sleep better. It also wants to be able to connect with IoT devices, like 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, EEG insights on the way
Ozlo’s next-generation case will solve the problem of earbuds sometimes not being properly attached to the charger.
“We changed the contour inside the case – when you place it (sleepbud), it is perfect. Then we will have a Bluetooth button to do pairing,” Patil said.
In addition, the new device will include a redesigned antenna and extender for better range, and will add an amplifier to boost how loud the headphones can drown out airplanes and sound trains, if necessary. This updated hardware will also arrive in Q2.
In terms of products, Ozlo will launch a bedside speaker in Q2 that will offer the same functionality as the Sleepbuds, but without the need to go into the ear. The 4×6-inch speaker will also have its own sensor, allowing it to do things like track how many times you get up to use the bathroom, or alert you when you’ve fallen.
The speaker will allow the company to market to families with children under 13 years old, because children are not recommended to wear earbuds at night. It may be useful for parents who are not technically savvy and don’t want to play with devices in their ears.
Like in The popular Hatch alarm clockOzlo is working on adding light to future products to gently wake you up. (The time frame for the launch is still being determined.)
Play acquisition
Acquisitions are also part of Ozlo’s growth strategy.
The 60-person Boston-based company just acquired Segotia, an EEG-focused neurotech company from Irelandwho have built “hearable” technology. Ozlo believes this will allow bringing brain-level insights to consumer devices and later create tools to perform sleep interventions in real time.
“Actually, we custom designed an eartip that will measure the electrical signal from the ear. From that, actually, you can derive the delta signal from the brain, and you should be able to tell what the brain has done when it comes to sleep, or when it comes to awareness, and all that,” Patil explained.
Products incorporating EEG technology will be launched in 2027, allowing the company to also move into the field of medical products.
With a busy year ahead, Ozlo needs to execute well on every new feature and product as quickly as possible to maintain its current pace and grow its customer base. You also need additional capital. Patil told TechCrunch the company is in the process of closing a Series B round now, with more details coming in the coming months.