A Seattle-based digital health business that created an app to track breathing was secretly acquired by Google

• ByStartupStory     |    October 27, 2022

Small University of Washington spinoff Sound Life Sciences, which created an application to track breathing, was purchased by Google. On Tuesday, a Google representative officially announced the company’s acquisition. Additional details concerning the sale, such as when it happened and the purchase price, were withheld by Google. When approached, the startup’s CEO and UW professor of computer science and engineering Shyam Gollakota declined to give further information.

In 2018, Gollakota and Jacob Sunshine, an associate professor of anesthesiology and pain medicine at UW Medicine, created the business. The sonar technology in the Sound Life Sciences app tracked breathing by looking for movement. The sleep apnea app may make it simpler to diagnose the condition, which typically requires an overnight stay at a sleep disorder facility. It might also make it possible for patients to monitor their breathing rate if they have a problem like asthma or congestive heart failure.

As of December, the company employed five individuals. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave the startup approval to market the app in that same month, opening the door to insurance company reimbursement. The business stopped updating its LinkedIn and Twitter profiles after the FDA notice. The website is currently inactive.

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