Asleep dreams big to help sleepless people worldwide find right treatment

Armed with artificial intelligence and big data technologies, Asleep hopes to find the best treatment for sleep-deprived people around the world with its breathing sound detection technology, said the three-year-old sleep tech startup founder.

“We will find the right answer to good sleep, as sleep accounts for nearly one-third of one’s entire life,” said Lee Dong-heon, founder and chief executive officer of Asleep, which has developed Sleeptrack API, which monitors and diagnoses sleep behavior by analyzing breath sounds during sleep.

Significant advancements in AI and big data technologies in recent years have made it possible to have a more accurate analysis of sleep quality, Lee added.

Asleep’s technology is distinguished from conventional methods for measuring sleep like polysomnography, which is complicated with a lot of sensors.  

Sleeptrack API is an AI-based program that tracks sleep behaviors in real time with a smart device. A built-in microphone in smart devices like a smartphone collects users’ sleep data from their breath sounds and analyzes sleep patterns to help its users to find the right sleep solutions.

Asleep has worked with Stanford University’s Center for Sleep and Circadian Sciences and Seoul National University Bundang Hospital to improve its sleep program, which is already touted as having one of the world’s best sleep technologies only three years after its foundation in 2020.

It signed a contract with LG Electronics Inc. late last year to develop the latter’s smart electronics to operate different functions based on users’ sleep stages. It is also supported by Amazon’s Alexa Startups program.

Recognized for its outstanding technology, Lee will accompany South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during his first state visit to the US next week as part of Yoon’s 122-person business delegation including chiefs from Korea’s big four conglomerates Samsung, LG, Hyundai and SK.

Lee is one of only two entrepreneurs in their 20s in the delegation.

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Alseep is the third company that Lee, born in 1994, has founded.

He had to fold the two previous businesses -- a legal advisory service and an AI-powered battery inspection service -- after failing to find customers. He later shifted his focus to sleep technology, which has been a long-time interest since his youth, Lee said.  

Lee witnessed the growth potential of the sleep device market during his visits to CES events every year since 2017.

“A slew of gadgets to help good sleep have been introduced but I could not find the right technology or service that can accurately assess their quality,” said Lee.

Asleep’s technology focuses on sleep diagnostics, a key sleep technology. Its medical-grade sleep monitoring AI software and personalized sleep app can help its users discover sleep disturbances such as apnea and hypopnea to improve their sleep health.  

Until Asleep was contacted by LG Electronics, Lee had handed out more than 1,000 business cards to people passing the lobby floor of conglomerates’ headquarters buildings such as LG and Amorepacific.

But the company is now being approached by global firms for partnership.

French cosmetics giant L’Oreal officials visited Asleep’s booth during this year’s CES to discuss a partnership. Samsung Life Insurance Co. and Korea’s cosmetics giant Amorepacific Corp. are its clients.

Lee and his co-founder Hong Jun-ki made it on the Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list for Healthcare & Science in 2022. Both Lee and Hong are alumni of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Korea’s most prestigious science research university.

Asleep will launch its software-fitted products in collaboration with other companies at home and abroad this year. It also plans to add new functions to Sleep Routine, its mobile sleep-tracking app, to help users improve sleep health.

“We will strive to become the world’s best sleep diagnostics platform company that can also provide sleep treatments,” said Lee.

Write to Joo-Wan Kim and Hyuk Choi at kjwan@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.