SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Supermoon Capital
(www.supermooncapital.com), formerly SleepScore Ventures, launched
today with its first venture fund of $36
million to invest in early-stage startups across all
geographies working on science-backed innovations aimed to improve
sleep. With the world's first fund investing in sleep, Supermoon
Capital aims to address the rapidly emerging category of the Night
Market™, the firm's name for the budding $488 billion
sleep economy.
The global epidemic of insufficient sleep has profound negative
effects on both short and long-term health and wellness. 75 percent
of Americans suffer from recurring sleep issues, and insufficient
sleep plagues nearly every age group around the world. Nearly a
billion people worldwide suffer from sleep apnea, and it is
estimated that the sleep disorder remains undiagnosed for 80
percent of Americans.
"Sleep is truly the most important but least understood aspect
of everyone's daily life that affects our health, happiness, and
productivity," said Pat Connolly,
co-founder and managing partner of Supermoon Capital. "We founded
Supermoon Capital with the mission to serve as the premier source
of capital and expertise for the Night Market. We believe that by
reuniting our chronically fatigued world with healthy sleep, we can
extend and enhance the lives of millions around the globe."
Prior to launching Supermoon Capital, Connolly spent 37 years at
Williams-Sonoma in various leadership roles, including
as chief strategy and business development officer. During his
tenure, Connolly helped take Williams-Sonoma public, launch six retail brands, and
grow its annual sales from $4.5
million to more than $5
billion. For almost 20 years, Connolly oversaw all aspects
of the company's direct-to-customer business, and his early
advocacy in e-commerce helped transform Williams-Sonoma into one of the world's largest and
most profitable internet retailers.
Connolly founded Supermoon Capital together with Michael Masterson and Grayson Judge, who bring nearly two decades of
combined experience investing in healthcare and technology.
Masterson co-founded capital advisory firm Sutter Post Advisors and
Nevro (NYSE: NVRO), a global medical device company, and previously
held investment roles at Bay City Capital, a life sciences focused
venture capital firm.
"We saw an enormous need for a fund entirely focused on sleep;
sleep science is a relatively young but quickly growing field, and
the science is highly complex," said Michael Masterson, co-founder and managing
partner of Supermoon Capital. "Many of the sleep-related products
and solutions currently on the market are unfortunately
unscientific, unproven, and in some cases unhealthy. What we are
seeing is an increasing need for science-based sleep solutions, not
just business model innovations or marketing. We aim to bridge the
gap between science-driven innovation in sleep and
commercialization for the Night Market. We've assembled an arsenal
of sleep science resources that help us identify, back, and develop
best-in-class early-stage startups from around the world."
Through what the firm calls its arsenal of sleep science
resources — an extensive network of corporate and strategic
relationships and leading scientific experts in sleep — Supermoon
Capital applies the latest and most advanced sleep science to
inform its investment process and support its portfolio companies.
Supermoon Capital has assembled a Sleep Science Collective of the
world's top sleep scientists, prominent academics, and industry
experts across a range of relevant fields in sleep that serves as
an extended advisory team to the fund and portfolio. Supermoon
Capital's investors include ResMed (NYSE: RMD), a global leader in
digital health and the number one provider of connected devices to
treat sleep apnea. Supermoon Capital holds an exclusive strategic
relationship with SleepScore Labs that provides its portfolio
companies with access to the sleep improvement company's innovative
science and data-backed products and services, like R&D,
testing, validation, and corporate programs.
To date, Supermoon Capital has invested in six early-stage
startups comprising a global portfolio that spans a range of
technology sectors and industries — such as software, medical
devices, hardware, and services for clinical and consumer use — and
includes:
- Clair Labs (Tel Aviv, Israel): Revolutionizing patient
monitoring for remote healthcare by developing contact-free
technology for clinical-grade physiological monitoring.
- Endel (Berlin,
Germany): With more than two million users and recently
named Apple Watch App of the Year, its AI-generated, personalized
soundscapes for circadian optimization improve sleep, reduce
stress, and boost productivity.
- EnsoData (Madison,
Wisconsin, U.S.): Helping clinicians diagnose sleep
apnea and other sleep disorders with its FDA-cleared AI software
that analyzes medical waveform data.
- FreshBed (Amsterdam, The
Netherlands): A scientifically-designed bed system that
regulates air quality, temperature, humidity, and ergonomic comfort
for optimal sleep.
"Although we are only in the early innings of sleep science, our
portfolio companies have already forged major inroads in tackling
some of the most complex issues in sleep — particularly sleep
disorder diagnostics and sleep efficiency optimization — and their
traction has sparked an uptick in enterprise interest," said
Grayson Judge, co-founder and
managing partner of Supermoon Capital. "Healthier sleep based on
science is compelling, and the startups we've invested in
demonstrate the range of opportunities and global innovations
happening in the Night Market. As consumers and organizations alike
continue to recognize the importance of sleep in their daily lives,
we anticipate demand for such science-backed innovations to only
intensify."
ABOUT SUPERMOON CAPITAL
Supermoon Capital invests in
early-stage startups in all geographies working on innovative,
science-backed solutions for healthier sleep. The venture capital
firm launched in 2021 with the world's first fund focused entirely
on sleep. By applying the latest and most advanced sleep science to
inform its investment process and support its portfolio companies,
Supermoon Capital serves as the premier source of capital and
expertise for the rapidly emerging category of the Night
Market™, its name for the budding sleep economy. To
learn more, please visit www.supermooncapital.com.
Media Contact
Connie
Zheng
(415) 886-7218
connie@czcomms.com
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SOURCE Supermoon Capital