Onethird Marks First Anniversary with Unveiling of SOMA Kickstarter Campaign Video

Onethird celebrated its first year of operations last night with an anniversary event held on 5 December. The evening was highlighted by the world premiere of the Kickstarter campaign video for SOMA, the company’s flagship sleep-optimising mattress accessory.

Addressing a Global Sleep Crisis

Founded in late 2024, Onethird has dedicated its first year to addressing the critical impact of sleep deprivation on human performance and safety. During the event, the company highlighted how inadequate sleep costs the Australian economy an estimated $60 to $70 billion annually—nearly 3% of the nation’s GDP—and has historically contributed to major global disasters.

"Sleep is the single most important thing we must do every day, yet it remains one of the least optimised areas of human life," the company stated. "Onethird was founded to change that. Our mission is to use scientific and innovative technologies to empower people to sleep at their best, so they can do everything better."

SOMA: A New Standard in Thermal Comfort

The centrepiece of the anniversary was the unveiling of the SOMA Kickstarter campaign video. SOMA is a mattress accessory designed to improve sleep quality for any individual by focusing on a universal factor: thermal comfort.

While existing products in the market often rely on motion sensors to estimate sleep quality—a method Onethird identifies as an indirect and often inaccurate proxy—SOMA’s core innovation lies in its AI-driven thermal sensing. The device processes real-time temperature data, analysing patterns and historical trends to actively heat the bed when a user is cold and cool it when they are hot.

A Year of Milestone Achievements

The event served as a reflection on a year of significant growth and collaboration within the Melbourne innovation ecosystem:

• Research and Grants: In partnership with the University of Melbourne, Onethird has submitted two major government research grant applications to the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the Corporate Research Centre (CRC).

• Academic Collaboration: The company acknowledged its work with lead investigators and researchers, including Dr Ling Luo, Professor Uwe Aickelin, and Professor Amy Jordan, alongside partner organisations like Circadian Health Innovation.

• Engineering Success: The year saw the completion of the software system for temperature control and data visualisation, alongside finalised hardware designs that were iterated and optimised using advanced simulation software.

• Strategic Support: Onethird successfully completed the Melbourne Entrepreneurial Centre’s Velocity pre-accelerator programme and is in the final stages of filing its first patent with intellectual property firm Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick.

The Path to Production

Entering its second year, Onethird is transitioning from development to production. With the SOMA hardware and software foundations now established, the company’s focus for 2026 will be on building, testing, and fulfilling its upcoming Kickstarter campaign.

"SOMA is just the beginning of our journey," the company concluded. "By starting with temperature and eventually expanding to light, sound, and nutrition, we aim to crack the code for perfecting human sleep within our lifetime."

About Onethird

Onethird is a Melbourne-based health-tech startup focused on perfecting human sleep through scientific innovation. By combining AI with thermal engineering, Onethird creates smart accessories designed to optimise the sleep environment for peak physical and cognitive performance.