AI - Mindfulness for everyone

Coor Smarter Worklife 22/23

Noise is a constant presence, whether natural sounds like wind or man-made sounds like music. Some sounds barely register with us, but it is well established that different sounds have different effects on our brains. We know that some soundscapes can reduce stress, while others can boost our productivity.

German tech company Endel decided to dig deeper into this. The result was Endel Pacific, a software that uses AI technology and individual data to create a personal soundscape for each user—adapted to their heart rate, the lighting, time of day and weather.
“We want to make AI-powered mindfulness easily accessible to everyone,” says the company’s founder and CEO Oleg Stavitsky. “Our software creates personal soundscapes to improve sleep, reduce stress and improve productivity, all supported by neuroscience.
The starting point is how the brain reacts to different types of sounds.”

How the right soundscape can enhance well-being and productivity is a key focus of Endel’s AI development. Oleg Stavitsky emphasizes that the software is not just for individuals; the company is also designing the service to be attractive to employers, tailoring its offer to the customers’ preferences and opportunities. Some businesses need soundscapes that enhance focused, analytical work, while others may need support for creative thinking. Either way, the goal of the service is to enable employees to focus and enhance their performance in the workplace.
“What we do is more foundational and in-depth than anything that has previously been done in this field,” Stavitsky says, “especially in terms of how the right sounds can affect your cognitive state and improve concentration.”

Endel believes that its service is the next step in the evolution of workplaces.
“Since the pandemic, we are seeing the workplace with new eyes. No matter where we work, we will need the right workplaces in order to be creative and focused. Personal soundscapes allow us to create these individual environments and protective bubbles that help us remain relaxed and productive, no matter where we are.”