Orion
Orion makes an AI-powered smart mattress cover that senses body temperature and heart rate and adjusts heating and cooling through the night to keep each sleeper at their ideal temperature.
- Category
- Bio and Healthcare
- Fund
- NZVC II
- Website
- www.orionsleep.com
- On TechMates
- 1 episode
What Orion does
Orion offers dual-zone control for two people and needs no subscription for core temperature control. Orion raised a US$17.5 million seed round, with Square co-founder Jim McKelvey among the backers.
The secret
Temperature is one of the strongest levers on sleep quality, and it has to move through the night rather than be set once. Orion treats sleep as the base of the longevity stack and charges no subscription for the temperature control itself, which puts active climate control within reach of far more households.
Why NZVC invested in Orion
NZVC invested in Orion from NZVC Fund II. We file the company under Bio and Healthcare on the portfolio wall.
We backed Orion because temperature is one of the strongest levers on sleep quality, and Orion delivers active, personalized climate control at a price that opens the category to far more households. The team ships hardware with strong industrial design and a clear cost advantage over established players. Sleep sits at the base of the growing longevity and health market, and a well-priced, well-designed product can win a large share of it.
Orion in the press
- Alum dreams big with AI-powered mattress coverTulane Freeman News · 20 July 2026
- Orion was reported to have passed eight figures in revenue three months after launchEntrepreneur · 16 June 2026
- Orion launched its next mattress cover after an $18 million seedPR Newswire · 11 December 2025
- Sleep tech mattress cover startup 'Orion' takes on Eight SleepMugglehead · 21 November 2025
- Orion raised $18 million for its cooling mattress coverForbes · 14 November 2025
Orion on TechMates
A Dynasty of Inventors: From the Photocopier to Orion
You hear a founder whose great-great-grandfather invented the photocopier explain why he sold Fanfix for eight figures at 21 and whether he regrets it. You follow him from founder burnout into longevity and into Orion, a mattress topper built to take on Eight Sleep. You learn why he thinks a month of software is easier than an hour of hardware.
“a month of software is easier than an hour of hardware”Harry Gestetner
- A 150-year family legacy of invention, from photocopiers to ballpoint pens.
- Selling a startup for eight figures at 21 years old.
- Building Orion: the Tesla of Sleep vs. Eight Sleep.