World-first AI earable due as Cambridge Future Tech sets up device firm with Nokia Bell Labs
Cambridge Future Tech (CFT) has joined forces with Nokia to develop OmniBuds, the world’s first ear-worn AI/ML computing platform to monitor vital signs, including heart and respiration rates, physical activities and audio experiences.
Omnibuds Ltd has been set up to commercialise the computing platform by Nokia Bell Labs, which created it, Nokia Ventures & Partnerships and CFT.
The new company, which was incorporated in September 2024, will be based at the Nokia Bell Labs Cambridge in West Cambridge.
The next-generation earable device is poised to make waves in the health and wellness industry by providing continuous, real-time insights to care providers and enhancing patient care.
Thierry E Klein, president of Bell Labs Solutions Research at Nokia, said: “We are very privileged to engage with Cambridge Future Tech to commercialise the OmniBuds platform and create global impact through better health outcomes.
“We look to organisations like Cambridge Future Tech to accelerate the value creation from our research by taking our technology innovations out of the lab and putting them into the real-world. Nokia Bell Labs innovates with purpose to solve the most challenging industrial and societal problems. What could be more exciting than developing technologies to improve human health and wellbeing?”
The partnership accelerates CFT’s engagement in the earable sector.
Mike Chen, VP of ventures and partnerships at Nokia, said: “This engagement between Nokia and Cambridge Future Tech offers an accelerated external research commercialisation pathway to harness the innovation developed by Nokia Bell Labs and utilise Cambridge Future Tech’s venture building prowess, to create new products and services for augmenting people’s lives.”
The partnership is a huge vote of support for CFT’s early-stage involvement in some of the world’s most innovative deep tech.
Owen Thompson, CEO and co-founder at Cambridge Future Tech, said: “Partnering with an institution as prestigious as Nokia Bell Labs is a privilege. Their track record for pioneering innovation is unmatched, and we’re excited to collaborate to advance cutting-edge technologies. OmniBuds has the potential to completely transform the health tech space and positively impact people’s lives around the world.
“This partnership will enable us to push OmniBuds forward, creating a true breakthrough in personal health monitoring. We aim to bring this disruptive technology to market, accelerating its growth and driving significant change in the healthcare industry worldwide.”
The announcement of the new company comes in the same week as Cambridge Future Tech (CFT)’s co-founder Xavier Parkhouse-Parker has left the company he helped create “to embark on the next adventure”, as reported here.
James Hayward has been appointed to the COO role at Cambridge Future Tech.
