Smart Nora
Smart Nora is a Canadian consumer health technology company that sells the Nora Gen 2, a contact-free, AI-driven anti-snoring pillow device sold direct-to-consumer and through major retailers to individual snorers and their sleep partners.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersToronto, Canada
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Smart Nora does
Smart Nora is a Canadian consumer health technology company founded in 2015 and headquartered in Markham, Ontario, that develops and sells the Nora Gen 2 contact-free anti-snoring device. The core product is a hardware pillow-insert device paired with a free iOS companion app; an integrated microphone captures snoring audio, an adaptive AI detects snoring patterns in real time, and the device automatically inflates or deflates a chamber under the pillow to reposition the sleeper and silence the snore without waking the user. The underlying technology is patented across 10+ jurisdictions including the United States, Canada, China, Japan, Korea, Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and was independently validated by SleepScore Labs (a ResMed joint venture) in a study covering 527 nights of data across 58 participants and 6 scientists.
Revenue is generated primarily through one-time hardware sales of Nora Gen 2 via a Shopify-powered direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront, supplemented by distribution through six top-tier retail partners (BestBuy, Target, Walmart, McKesson, Cardinal Health, and Kroger) spanning consumer electronics, mass-merchandise, and pharmacy/healthcare channels. An optional Nora membership program introduces a recurring-revenue component for accessories. Marketing is product-led, supported by a 30-day risk-free trial, free shipping and returns, a 1-year extendable-to-3-years warranty, doctor endorsements, and earned media from outlets including NYT Wirecutter, Time, Forbes, Good Morning America, Men's Health, Oprah Magazine, Thrillist, and Bravo.
Smart Nora has accumulated over 100,000 users and 1,400+ five-star reviews. Behrouz Hariri serves as CEO and Behzad Hariri as co-founder and COO. Total disclosed funding to date is approximately $1.05M across two rounds (2015 and 2025), with reported capital efficiency of ~30x investment-to-revenue. The company is privately held and operates within the broader sleep-technology devices market, which third-party sources project to reach USD 68.78 billion by 2032 at an 18.3% CAGR.
Smart Nora firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Smart Nora
- Legal name
- Smart Nora
- Website
- https://smartnora.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Smart Nora is a Canadian consumer health technology company that sells the Nora Gen 2, a contact-free, AI-driven anti-snoring pillow device sold direct-to-consumer and through major retailers to individual snorers and their sleep partners.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Smart Nora industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Consumer Sleep Devices
- NAICS
- Electromedical and Electrotherapeutic Apparatus Manufacturing (334510)
- SIC
- Electric Housewares & Fans (3634)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Sleep Tracking Devices (Wearables & Non-wearables) (CRACAQAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Neurological Monitoring (EEG, Seizure/Sleep/Neuro Wearables) (HLAHACAE), Sleep Tech Wearables (CRACAIAG)
Keywords
Where Smart Nora is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Toronto
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Smart Nora business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel
Revenue model
- Hardware Device Sales (Nora Gen 2): One-time purchase of the Nora Gen 2 anti-snoring device. Revenue recognized at point of sale through e-commerce and retail channels. Includes 1-year warranty with option to extend up to 3 years.
- Nora Membership / Accessories Subscription: Optional membership program for accessories and related products, implying a recurring revenue component beyond the initial hardware purchase.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Nora Gen 2 Device — one-time purchase with membership option |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Smart Nora product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Smart Nora designs, manufactures, and sells the Nora Gen 2 contact-free anti-snoring device, a pillow-insert hardware product that detects snoring sounds through a microphone and gently inflates/deflates an insert beneath the pillow to reposition the sleeper and stop snoring without waking them. The device is paired with a free iOS companion app that provides sleep tracking, snore scoring, and personalized insights. Optional accessories are offered through a Nora membership program.
Product overview
Smart Nora is a single-product wellness company offering the Nora Gen 2 anti-snoring device as its flagship offering. The Nora Gen 2 is a hardware device that works in conjunction with the Smart Nora App for iOS, which provides sleep tracking and personalization features. The product portfolio consists of the core hardware device and its companion mobile application, which work together to detect snoring and provide users with sleep insights.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Nora Gen 2: The second generation of Smart Nora's anti-snoring device featuring adaptive AI technology that learns over time to stop snoring before it starts.
Products and services
- Nora Gen 2 Contact-free anti-snoring hardware device placed under the pillow that detects snoring sounds via microphone and gently adjusts pillow height by inflating/deflating an insert to stop snoring without waking the user. Uses adaptive AI that learns individual snoring patterns over time and is compatible with any bed, pillow, or sleep position. Sold primarily to adult individual snorers and their sleep partners.
- Smart Nora Companion App
Quantifiable outcome
- 90% decrease in loud snoring (independently validated by SleepScore Labs)
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use Smart Nora
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Smart Nora technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability3 records
Feature3 records
Smart Nora partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- BestBuycoreBestBuy is a top 5 retail distribution partner for Smart Nora, providing physical retail shelf presence in the consumer electronics channel across North America.
- TargetcoreTarget is a top 5 retail distribution partner, providing mass merchandise retail placement for Smart Nora products.
- WalmartcoreWalmart is a top 5 retail distribution partner, providing broad mass merchandise retail distribution for Smart Nora across North America.
- McKessoncoreMcKesson is a healthcare/pharmacy distribution partner listed among Smart Nora's top 5 retail partners, enabling placement in pharmacy and healthcare retail channels.
- Cardinal HealthcoreCardinal Health is a healthcare/pharmacy distribution partner, enabling Smart Nora's presence in pharmacy and healthcare retail alongside McKesson.
- KrogercoreKroger is a top retail distribution partner providing grocery and health product retail placement for Smart Nora products.
- SleepScore LabscoreSleepScore Labs (a joint venture between ResMed and Pegasus Capital Advisors) independently designed, conducted, and reported Smart Nora's validation study — 527 nights of data, 58 participants, 6 scientists — demonstrating snoring reduction and partner sleep improvement. This co-development of scientific validation is a core strategic differentiator for the product.
- ResMedcoreResMed co-founded SleepScore Labs (the entity that independently validated Smart Nora's effectiveness) and provides the SleepScore technology used in the validation study. ResMed's S+ sleep monitoring device was used to objectively measure partner sleep during the study.
- ShopifycoreShopify powers Smart Nora's e-commerce store and website, providing the platform infrastructure for all online sales, customer accounts, payment processing, and personalized advertising. Smart Nora's privacy policy explicitly describes the Shopify relationship as the platform enabling the Services.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Smart Nora competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Oura: Oura's smart ring provides daily sleep, readiness, and now daytime-stress tracking, partially overlapping with Smart Nora's bedtime sleep insights but serving a different wear-style. Both compete for the same health-conscious consumer wallet share, though Oura's wearable-centric approach contrasts with Smart Nora's contact-free in-bed approach.
- Dreem: Dreem builds a headband EEG sleep tracker aimed at consumers pursuing deep sleep and sleep-stage analysis. Dreem addresses a portion of the sleep-wellness use case that overlaps with Smart Nora's companion app insights, particularly for users interested in objective sleep metrics and sleep-improvement programs.
- Somnox: Somnox makes a sleep-promoting breathing robot that the user holds or sleeps with, positioned for stress reduction and falling asleep faster. Like Smart Nora, it is a non-wearable in-bed intervention with a consumer-warm positioning, though it focuses on pre-sleep relaxation rather than snoring reduction.
- Withings (Nokia): Withings' Sleep Tracking Mat and ScanWatch family deliver non-wearable sleep tracking plus broader health metrics that compete for the same premium wellness consumer. Withings' retail footprint in BestBuy and similar channels overlaps with Smart Nora's distribution playbook.
Broad incumbents
- ResMed: ResMed is the global leader in CPAP/APAP/BiPAP sleep apnea devices and co-founded the SleepScore Labs entity that validated Smart Nora. ResMed's consumer wellness products (S+, myAir) overlap with Smart Nora's positioning and the company has unique insight into Smart Nora's clinical performance.
- Apple (Apple Watch Sleep): Apple Watch's native Sleep app and Bedtime features plus third-party sleep-tracking ecosystem make it a default competitor for consumer sleep-monitoring mindshare. While Apple Watch is a wearable (vs. Smart Nora's contact-free approach), it commoditizes basic sleep tracking and could eventually incorporate snoring/acoustic detection, putting pressure on Smart Nora's value proposition.
- Philips Sleep & Respiratory: Philips makes DreamStation CPAP and Snoring Relief / SmartSleep products, including the SmartSleep Snoring Relief Band that addresses the same problem as Smart Nora. Philips also employs Dr. Roy Raymann, a publicly featured Smart Nora endorser, putting the firms in direct competitive overlap in the anti-snoring consumer category.
Direct peers
- Eight Sleep: Eight Sleep makes the Pod smart mattress cover that actively adjusts temperature and tracks sleep, directly competing with Smart Nora for the premium sleep-wellness consumer who wants a hardware-driven in-bed intervention rather than a wearable. Both companies sell a single flagship connected sleep device through D2C and high-end retail.
- Hatch: Hatch sells premium bedside sleep devices including the Restore and Rise sound machines/sunrise alarms used by snorers and their partners at the bedside. Both Hatch and Smart Nora target the adult consumer who wants a non-medical, lifestyle-branded sleep product sold through retail and D2C at similar price points.
- ChiliSleep (Sleepme): ChiliSleep builds active cooling/heating mattress toppers and the Dock Pro sleep system, competing head-to-head with Smart Nora for the same snorer/poor-sleeper segment at similar consumer price points. Both anchor their marketing on measurable, condition-driven sleep improvements (temperature for ChiliSleep, snoring for Smart Nora).
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Smart Nora social profiles
Digital presenceSmart Nora financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Smart Nora leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Smart Nora funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Smart Nora M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Smart Nora
What does Smart Nora do?
Smart Nora designs, manufactures, and sells the Nora Gen 2 contact-free anti-snoring device, a pillow-insert hardware product that detects snoring sounds through a microphone and gently inflates/deflates an insert beneath the pillow to reposition the sleeper and stop snoring without waking them. The device is paired with a free iOS companion app that provides sleep tracking, snore scoring, and personalized insights. Optional accessories are offered through a Nora membership program.
Is Smart Nora a public or private company?
Smart Nora is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Smart Nora founded?
Smart Nora was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Smart Nora based?
Smart Nora is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Smart Nora make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Hardware Device Sales (Nora Gen 2) is the primary driver. The others are nora Membership / Accessories Subscription.
Who are Smart Nora's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Oura, Dreem, Somnox and Withings (Nokia). Broad incumbents are ResMed, Apple (Apple Watch Sleep) and Philips Sleep & Respiratory. Direct peers are Eight Sleep, Hatch and ChiliSleep (Sleepme).
Does Smart Nora have an API?
No public API is recorded for Smart Nora.
What industry is Smart Nora in?
Smart Nora's product category is Consumer Sleep Devices. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRACAQAD, Sleep Tracking Devices (Wearables & Non-wearables), with a secondary code of HLAHACAE, Neurological Monitoring (EEG, Seizure/Sleep/Neuro Wearables). Its NAICS code is 334510 and its SIC code is 3634.