Sheffield-based SleepCogni has secured a further £575,000 through an interim fund-raising round, taking its total funding to date to £1.7m.

The company, led by chairman and investor Richard di Benedetto, has developed a medical device designed to tackle insomnia through a patented behavioural treatment. The device uses multiple physiological and behavioural inputs to inform its AI.

With the support of a recently awarded Innovate UK grant, SleepCogni is now focusing on the clinical investigations of its wearable device.

In collaboration with Sheffield Hallam University, a large trial will be conducted enrolling 80 insomnia patients. This will provide key data on how the technology treats insomnia, will optimise personalisation algorithms, and provides large-scale user experience to pave the way for rapid commercialisation. The first results from these studies are expected early next year.

Richard Mills, chief executive of SleepCogni, said: “We are delighted that suppliers, shareholders and outside specialists have such belief and enthusiasm for our ground-breaking technology. We are focussing in the coming months on achieving three key deliverables: FDA clearance, clinical trials and commercial desire. We expect our business to be ready for a larger investment round mid-2020.”