SOND, a Boston startup founded by MIT alumni and led by former Bose Head of Sleep Yadid Ayzenberg, emerged from stealth with $7 million in funding and unveiled Dreambuds, a closed-loop in-ear system that monitors sleep and responds in real time.

The initial $7 million round includes E14 Fund, Crosslink Capital, Ubiquity Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Meach Cove Capital and John Abele, a co‑founder of Boston Scientific, the company said.

Dreambuds capture 12 physiological signals, the company says. Those signals include respiration, heart rate variability, cardiorespiratory coupling, sleep staging, body position, snoring and seismocardiography (SCG), the mechanical vibrations of the chest wall produced by the beating heart. Sensor streams feed a cloud-based AI sleep coach that selects or generates audio programs from a 500+ program library and adapts to what works for each user.

The system is designed to run without a phone. The charging case contains Wi‑Fi, Bluetooth, an OLED display, buttons and a speaker so the user can control sleep plans, hear an alarm or use the device without opening a mobile app, the company said. A double-tap gesture activates the AI coach so it will not speak to users unless explicitly engaged.

Ayzenberg, who led Bose’s sleep products and worked on Sleepbuds 2, said Bose’s decision to exit the sleep business prompted him to found SOND in February 2022. “I had spent, at this time, a significant amount of time around physiology, around sensors, around audio … I was meant to do this,” he told TechCrunch. He also said Dreambuds “did something entirely different” from products Bose might have made.

SOND ran comfort studies and private betas and plans mass production in Q2 2026 following a crowdfunding campaign to raise additional funds. The company is accepting reservations on its website.

Photo credit: techcrunch.com

Tags: sleep earbuds, wearable sensors, AI sleep coach, seismocardiography

Topics: Neurotech industry & startups, Wearable neurotech, Sleep technology