Top funding boost for Sheffield sleep aid inventor

A Sheffield inventor who developed a sleep aid device is waking up to an investment of nearly £500, 000.
L to r:- Dr Irshaad Ebrahim, Martyn Ware and Richard Mills.L to r:- Dr Irshaad Ebrahim, Martyn Ware and Richard Mills.
L to r:- Dr Irshaad Ebrahim, Martyn Ware and Richard Mills.

Richard Mills, chief executive officer of Braintrain 20:20, developed ‘SleepCogni’, which features a hoop on an arm over the bed that produces sounds and light patterns designed to send people to sleep.

He created it after suffering years of insomnia and Heaven 17 star Martyn Ware developed the sound element of the device.

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Braintrain 20:20 has now received a total of £485, 000 from Mercia Fund Management and notable angel investors, including senior sleep specialists and healthcare entrepreneurs.

The funding will be used to expand the business and complete a formal clinical trial at a global top-tier sleep research centre.

Mr Mills said: “Mercia is the perfect partner for us, as their ‘Complete Capital Solution’ will be able to meet our needs as a personalised healthcare technology start-up.

“We need an investor that understands our journey ahead and can help us plan for future growth. Our mission is to help the millions of sleep sufferers around the world with a clinically proven, non-drug solution and reduce the world’s dependency on sleeping tablets.”

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Dr Ashish Patel, investment manager for Mercia Fund Management, added: “We have wanted to explore the consumer personalised healthcare market for a long time, and we are particularly excited about Braintrain 20:20, which has the potential to become industry-leading given the sector expertise of the team.

“The technology could also be modified for other health issues, thus allowing people to take control of their health, whilst decreasing the burden on stretched health services.”

In addition to helping you sleep, SleepCogni also measures heart rate, skin temperature and oxygen levels in the blood to build a sleep programme. 50 per cent of users reported improvement in their sleep during a recent pilot.