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Calm (company)

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Calm.com, Inc.
Company typePrivate
FoundedMay 4, 2012; 12 years ago (2012-05-04)
Founders
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Products
Number of employees
310 (2022)[1]
Websitecalm.com

Calm.com, Inc., doing business as Calm, is a software company based in San Francisco, California. It produces meditation products, including guided meditations and Sleep Stories on its subscription-based app.[2][3][4][5][6]

History

[edit]

Calm was founded on May 4, 2012, by Michael Acton Smith and Alex Tew.[7] Tamara Levitt became the Head of Mindfulness in November 2014 and is one of the app's primary narrators.[8]

The company generated $22 million in revenue in 2017 and reached an annual revenue run rate of $75 million.[9] As of 2017, Calm had raised $1.5M in angel investments.[10]

As of February 2019, the company was valued at $1 billion and had raised $116 million, with contributions from existing investors, including Insight Venture Partners, Ashton Kutcher's Sound Ventures, and Creative Artists Agency.[11]

Calm was Apple's "App of the Year" in 2017,[10] and was ranked by Inc. as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America in 2018.[12]

In February 2022, Calm acquired Ripple Health Group, a technology company that connects users with proper healthcare options.[13] The acquisition focused on building Calm Health,[14][15] which was released in October 2022 and offered through traditional healthcare providers, payers, and self-insured employers.[16] It was initially offered to patients suffering from anxiety or depression. The company planned to add mental health programs for those with other physical conditions.[6]

In August 2022, Calm laid off 20% of its employees, roughly 90 of 400 employees.[1]

In November 2022, Calm had four million paid subscribers.[13]

Product

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Calm produces meditation products, including guided meditations, a book, narrated Sleep Stories, and health and meditation videos. Their primary product is the meditation app, available on iPhone and Android devices.[17][18]

The app features both meditation tools and sleep aids.

The meditation area offers breathing exercises, a daily meditation, several multi-day programs, and unguided and guided meditation sessions.[19][20]

The company also produced a nature documentary series for HBO Max.[21][22]

The app also hosts Alanis Morissette's 2022 ambient album The Storm Before the Calm.[23]

Jay Shetty, the company's chief purpose officer, hosts a short mindfulness message called "The Daily Jay."[13]

"Sleep Stories" series

[edit]

On December 1, 2016, Calm launched an initial range of 23 Sleep Stories, with the aim of helping adult listeners sleep.[24]

Sleep Stories include archival recordings of Bob Ross,[25] classical and ambient music including compositions by Johannes Brahms, Sigur Rós, deadmau5, and Moby. The series also included original stories and public domain fiction read by narrators including:

In 2018, singer Leona Lewis contributed narration to the sleep stories in support of (RED)'s Global Fund to end AIDS.[31]

In December 2023, Calm announced that it had used AI voice-cloning technology to create a Christmas-themed original story "It's a Wonderful Sleep Story" narrated by American actor James Stewart, 25 years after the actor's death in 1997.[32]

Publications

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  • Calm: Calm the Mind. Change the World (Penguin, 2015), Michael Acton Smith, ISBN 978-0241201954

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Popular meditation app maker Calm reportedly lays off 20% of employees". August 12, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  2. ^ "The Unbearable Irony of Meditation Apps". Wired. August 30, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  3. ^ Rosenbloom, Stephanie (January 24, 2017). "Head Trip: Meditation Apps for Travelers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  4. ^ Hamman, Brian (November 14, 2015). "How to Pick a Meditation App". Well. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  5. ^ Eaton, Kit (May 4, 2016). "The Smartphone Way to Inner Calm". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  6. ^ a b Wiggers, Kyle (October 18, 2022). "Calm launches clinical mental health offering, Calm Health". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  7. ^ "Calm.com, Inc.: Private Company Information -". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on February 16, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  8. ^ Cornell, Camilla (September 2, 2018). "Meet Tamara Levitt, the Toronto woman who soothes millions on the Calm app". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  9. ^ "Meditation app Calm hits a $250M valuation amid an explosion of interest in mindfulness apps". TechCrunch. June 20, 2018. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Levy, Ari (March 26, 2018). "This meditation app is now worth $250 million and has Trump-related stress to thank". CNBC.
  11. ^ Gmelich, Krista (February 6, 2019). "Meditation App Backed by Ashton Kutcher Valued at $1 Billion". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  12. ^ "Calm.com: Number 19 on the 2018 Inc. 5000". Inc.com. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  13. ^ a b c Southwick, Ron (November 28, 2022). "Calm moves into healthcare and is excited about its prospects". Chief Healthcare Executive. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  14. ^ Aisha Malik (February 2, 2022). "Calm acquires healthcare technology company Ripple Health Group". Tech Crunch. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  15. ^ Torrence, Rebecca (February 3, 2022). "Meditation app Calm buys Ripple Health Group to build out mental health care offerings". Fierce Healthcare. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  16. ^ Olsen, Emily (October 18, 2022). "Calm announces clinical mental health offering". MobiHealthNews. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  17. ^ "7 Mindfulness Apps To Help You Refocus". Time. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  18. ^ "How Mindfulness Can Help You Sleep Better". The Huffington Post. January 5, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  19. ^ Dredge, Stuart (May 26, 2016). "Five of the best meditation apps". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  20. ^ Pinola, Melanie. "Calm.com Trains You to Meditate in Two to Twenty Minute Sessions". Lifehacker. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  21. ^ Heater, Brian (July 19, 2020). "The Calm meditation app is getting its own celebrity-filled HBO Max show". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  22. ^ Porter, Rick (July 16, 2020). "Calm App to Become HBO Max Series". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  23. ^ Lewry, Fraser (May 19, 2022). "Alanis Morissette is releasing a meditation album and it all sounds *very* relaxing". Louder Sound. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  24. ^ Buhr, Sarah (December 2016). "That one time I was tucked in by a startup". TechCrunch. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  25. ^ Boran, Marie. "Happy little Zzzzzs with Bob Ross". The Irish Times. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  26. ^ THR Staff (January 24, 2021). "From Harry Styles to Kevin Hart: New Content Studios Are Selling Meditation and Sleep With Stars' Help". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  27. ^ "Optimus Prime Wants You to Go the Hell to Sleep". February 2, 2022.
  28. ^ "Harry Styles Says Meditation 'Changed My Life' As He Loans His Voice To Relaxation App Calm". Capital FM. July 8, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  29. ^ "Harry Styles Fans Are Living For His Soothing Calm App Story- Here Are The Best Reactions". Capital FM. July 8, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  30. ^ Roettgers, Janko (November 21, 2018). "Matthew McConaughey Wants to Make You Fall Asleep, Partners With Calm App". Variety. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  31. ^ "Drift off to sleep with Leona Lewis and SAVE LIVES with (RED)". Calm Blog. November 27, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  32. ^ Spangler, Todd (December 4, 2023). "AI-Generated Jimmy Stewart Narrates Bedtime Story for Calm App (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
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