Brief - The Hustle

AI-powered wearable tech has found its way to babies

Written by Shelley Tang | Feb 24, 2021 10:51:11 AM

Wearable technology is the modern equivalent of the bell bottoms fad: 4 years ago, just 9% of US consumers wore a smart health tracking device; today, that number is at 33%.

Now, real-time health tracking has extended to consumers’ babies.

One of the powerhouses in this space is Nanit, an AI-powered sleep and growth tracking company for babies. It just closed a $25m Series C.

Smart baby monitor? Tell me more.

It makes sense to track a baby’s sleep since newborns sleep 15+ (glorious) hours a day.

Nanit’s sleep-tracking products include HD cameras, breathing bands, and smart sheets. Along with its app (subscription needed), these measure:

  • Breathing: The camera picks up on the breathing band and specifically patterned clothing.
  • Measurements and height: The smart sheets’ patterns help the camera measure the baby.

Nanit’s recent Series C funds international expansion and R&D of other smart nursery items like changing pads and night lights.

Parents are going gaga over the baby market

The baby product market in the US is projected to grow to $85B by 2025.

This is fueled in part by parents willing to pay for the latest in wearable and real-time monitoring products, including:

  • Owlet: This baby monitor competitor was last valued at $1.07B. It plans to go public via a SPAC soon.
  • Snoo: These smart sleep aids include a $1.5k bassinet.

Safe to say, these baby companies are no longer crawling. Nanit is out of its playpen and sprinting.