Israeli smart baby monitor, sleep tracker start-up secures $21 million

'Nanit uses artificial intelligence and computer vision to truly revolutionize the sleep category; a crucial dimension of the wellness industry,' said Erel Margalit, founder and chairman of JVP.

By ZACHARY KEYSER
Nanit's smart baby monitor (photo credit: NANIT)
Nanit's smart baby monitor
(photo credit: NANIT)
Israeli start-up Nanit, maker of the Nanit Plus smart baby monitor and sleep tracker, secured over $21 million dollars in capital during a private funding round for their innovative technology during the coronavirus pandemic, even as many Israeli start-ups are currently scrambling to gain funding amid the accompanying economic crisis.
The investment efforts were led by Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP), Upfront Ventures, RRE Ventures and Rho – bringing the total capital raised by the company to $50 million since the beginning of 2016. Nanit will put forth the funding for its next phase of product development.
“Nanit uses artificial intelligence and computer vision to truly revolutionize the sleep category; a crucial dimension of the wellness industry. The coronavirus crisis has demonstrated once again how important technology is for families to stay connected,” said Erel Margalit, Founder, and Chairman of JVP. “We are sure the unique solution and advanced technology will be further expanded into new and exciting product lines.”
The technology itself “solved the age-old problem of teaching your baby to fall asleep,” said Will Porteous, general partner, RRE Ventures. Nanit’s baby monitor tracks sleep behavior and patterns without the need for a wearable component.
He added that the company’s products not only give parents more ways to share the early development years in their child’s life with loved ones, but are also “well-positioned to address a wide range of health and wellness questions for families and physicians,” using the sleep tracker and smart technology infused into monitor.
One of the features of the system is that parents can loop friends and families into the parenting team, so they can feel together even if they can’t be there in person, according to the company.
To take it a step further, for new parents, Nanit also allows for personalized sleep tracking, breathing motion monitoring and coaching via its app.
For an idea of just how important focusing on optimal baby sleep is, pediatrician Dr. Harvey Karp says new parents get on average six hours of sleep, broken up into short stretches.
“This sleep deprivation can trigger issues like marital stress, breastfeeding failure, postpartum depression and overweight babies and mothers.” He also emphasizes that 60% to 70% of babies who die in their sleep were in bed with their parents or in other unsafe sleep positions.
“Parents don’t do these things on purpose – they’re desperate, exhausted and looking for anything that can help.
“Having a baby is one of the most significant life moments not only for parents but for the entire family. We are so fortunate to be able to use our technology to keep families connected and sharing in this precious new journey, no matter where they are,” Nanit CEO Sarah Dorsett said.
The company has fared well during the crisis, in part due to its ability to keep families connected. Families with grandparents, aunts, uncles or other immuno-suppressed individuals make up 20% of Nanit’s active users – which demonstrates the importance of the solution for families separated by the coronavirus pandemic, whether it be by a few blocks or by countries.
Since launching in 2016, Nanit, which uses artificial intelligence and computer vision, has tracked more than 86 million hours of sleep.
Nanit was named on CNBC’s 2019 “Upstart 100” list, featuring the top 100 start-ups of the year. Additionally, Nanit manufactures baby swaddles and infant apparel that can be synchronized with the smart device to track a child’s breathing.
Sharon Feiereisen and Reuters contributed to this report.


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