Rewiring Sleep with low-frequency personalized tES (transcranial stimulation)| Inside Somnee’s Neuroscience Headband with CEO Tim Rosa
TL;DR: Former Fitbit CMO Tim Rosa is now CEO of Somnee, a neuroscience-driven sleep company built out of UC Berkeley. Their headband uses lab-grade EEG and personalized electrical stimulation to help people fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and finally get clinical-quality sleep data at home. The NBA is already in as an investor and pilot partner — and this is just the beginning.
From Berkeley Lab to Bedroom
Somnee was founded by four neuroscientists out of UC Berkeley, including:
- Dr. Robert Knight – former head of the Neuroscience Institute at Cal
- Dr. Matt Walker – globally known sleep scientist and author of Why We Sleep
They spent five years in R&D asking one question:
What’s the most effective way to stimulate the brain to improve sleep onset, sleep maintenance, and deep sleep?
They tested different forms of neuro-modulation and landed on a patented form of personalized alternating current stimulation targeting the frontal cortex — the region that helps regulate your brain’s state.
How the Somnee Headband Actually Works
Somnee is basically a mini sleep lab you wear on your head.
- Step 1: EEG mapping – The headband uses lab-grade EEG (the gold standard in sleep labs) to map your brain activity in real time.
- Step 2: Find your “optimal state” – Over 2–5 sessions, Somnee’s AI models learn your ideal brain rhythm for sleep.
- Step 3: Personalized stimulation – During a 15-minute session before bed (or while you sleep), the device delivers personalized electrical stimulation to gently guide your brain into that optimal state.
You can:
- Wear it for 15 minutes before bed as a “sleep on-ramp,” or
- Wear it all night to get clinical grade sleep data and, as needed, support middle of the night wake ups. Somnee can be restarted for an abbreviated stem session that helps you get back to sleep quickly
Because the sensors sit on the head (not on a wrist or finger), Somnee can measure sleep stages and awakenings at a true clinical level, not just trend-level guesses.
NBA Backing & Early Results
The NBA is an investor in Somnee and ran the device through a rigorous “Shark Tank-style” review with their performance and medical teams.
In a recent cohort:
- +37 minutes of added sleep
- Sleep onset reduced from 24 minutes → 8 minutes
- Improvements across key sleep metrics
Somnee presented the data during NBA Summer League, and interest from athletes has been strong — not just because of performance, but also:
- Recovery speed
- Injury prevention
- Long-term brain + mental health
From Fitbit to Somnee | Tim’s Pivot
Before Somnee, Tim helped create the wearables category at Fitbit:
- ~140 million devices sold in ~7 years (compare that to Oura who is valued at $13 Billion on 5 million units sold)
- Global scale across 100+ countries
- Introduced everyday consumers to heart rate tracking and basic sleep trends
But there were limits.
Fitbit (and most wearables) rely on sensors downstream from the brain (wrist, finger, etc.), which means:
- Great for trends
- Not truly clinical-grade sleep staging
For Somnee’s model — which uses AI + machine learning to personalize stimulation — data quality is everything.
“Good data in, good data out. If your inputs are weak, your AI outputs will be off, too.” — Tim Rosa
Somnee flips that: start at the brain, then use AI to act on that signal.
Sleep as a Personal Story
Tim didn’t just join Somnee for the tech.
He had adult insomnia for years — relying on:
- THC/CBD edibles
- Nightly melatonin
- Anything to knock him out
When he tried the Somnee prototype, he:
- Stopped the sleep aids
- Fell asleep on session three
- Loved the outcome but hated the Gen 1 user experience
He only agreed to take the CEO role if he could reset the entire company:
- New supply chain
- New hardware roadmap
- New brand and app experience
- Expansion into enterprise and partnerships (NBA, Equinox Hotels, etc.)
Gen 2 is the result of that reset.
Beyond Sleep Tracking: APIs, Biomarkers & Menopause Support
Somnee is already more than just a headband:
- Clinical data for consumers: Some users don’t have major sleep issues but want true EEG sleep data to plug into other health workflows.
- API & Integrations (coming online):
- Partnerships (e.g., with Superpower) to connect blood biomarkers and sleep into closed-loop interventions.
- Equinox Hotels integration, starting with NYC, where room design and Somnee work together for a high-end sleep experience.
- Perimenopause & Menopause:
- Many women wake 3–5 times per night.
- Somnee is one of the first devices that lets them tap to re-activate neurostimulation when they wake up.
- Future updates will let AI automatically trigger stimulation as the device detects awakenings.
Tim’s Flow Stack
Tim’s current performance stack is simple but intentional:
- Training:
- Rogue AirBike — warm-up and finisher every session
- Membership at Equinox
- Surfing 2–3 hours a session (physical + mental + spiritual outlet)
- Mountain biking in Marin on a Yeti
- Trail running around Dipsy / Mill Valley
- Supplements:
- Just creatine powder (Transparent Labs) — scaled back from “guinea pig mode” on a ton of products
- Sleep Gear:
- Eight Sleep for dynamic cooling (autopilot temp adjustments)
- Somnee nightly as his primary sleep aid
“I just wanted to let my body clear out and focus on the stuff that actually moves the needle.” — Tim Rosa
Where to Find Somnee
- somneesleep.com — learn more, sign up for the newsletter, and get Dr. Matt Walker’s Top 10 Sleep Tips
- Tim: available on LinkedIn for questions and follow-up
The Playbook Take: Wearables told us what was happening. Somnee is trying to change what happens — using electricity, EEG, and AI to turn sleep into an active performance tool instead of a passive metric.
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