Timeshifter, a company that creates solutions based on
circadian science and that is best known for its jet-lag app, is finalizing $2
million in new financing. Prior to this it had raised $1.5 million since its
launch in 2018.
Investors include the chair of AirCanada, Vagn Sørensen, as
well as a former NASA astronaut and the chief medical officer for Axiom Space.
Until now, Timeshifter’s only product was its
jet-lag app, which creates personalized plans for users based on their
itinerary, sleep patterns and preferences. The company says travelers who
follow its advice are 17 times less likely to report severe jet lag than those
who do not.
In December the company announced a partnership with
Tripadvisor that gives a complimentary jet-lag plan to travelers that use Tripadvisor’s
Reco planning service. Travel brands including SAP Concur, Travelperk, CWT and
United Airlines have also created partnerships to offer the jet-lag app.
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Now the company is working with the same
Harvard Medical School sleep expert, Dr. Steven Lockley, who helped Timeshifter create its jet-lag app to create a new
app for shift workers, which will launch later this year.
Dr. Lockley says the new app will apply the same
principles of the jet-lag app to improve the health, safety and productivity
for millions of shift workers, including those working in hospitality,
transportation, security and other industries.
“With its jet-lag app, Timeshifter has demonstrated an
ability to translate sleep and circadian neuroscience into a tool that helps
travelers proactively reset their circadian clock quickly to new time zones,” says
Dr. Lockley.
“Shift work can cause many of the same problems as jet lag
but is a bigger challenge as the problems are not isolated to a specific trip
but are part of the workers’ everyday lives. As with jet lag, the app has to
address not only the sleep and circadian factors underlying shift work but has
to combine this with practical advice that workers can follow.”