Calm (company)

Calm is a software company based in San Francisco, California. It produces meditation products, including guided meditations and Sleep Stories.[2][3][4][5]

Calm
TypePrivate
Founded2012
Founders
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Products
Number of employees
  • 50 (2019)
[1]
Websitecalm.com

History

Calm was founded in 2012 by Michael Acton Smith and Alex Tew.[6] Tamara Levitt became the Head of Mindfulness in November 2014 and is one of the app's primary narrators.[7]

The company generated $22 million in revenue in 2017 and reached an annual revenue run rate of $75 million.[8] As of 2017, Calm had raised $1.5M in angel investments.[9]

As of February 2019, the company was valued at $1 Billion and had raised $116 million, with contributions from existing investors, including Insight Venture Partners, Ashton Kutcher’s Sound Ventures, and Creative Artists Agency.[1]

Calm was Apple's "App of the Year" in 2017,[9] and was ranked by Inc. as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America in 2018.[10]

Product

Calm produces meditation products, including guided meditations, a book, narrated Sleep Stories, and health and meditation videos. Their primary product is the meditation app, available on iPhone and Android devices.[11][12]

The app features both meditation tools and sleep aids.

The meditation area offers breathing exercises, a daily meditation, several multi-day programs, and unguided and guided meditation sessions.[13][14]

On December 1, 2016, Calm launched an initial range of 23 Sleep Stories, with the aim of helping adult listeners sleep.[15]

Sleep Stories include archival recordings of Bob Ross,[16] classical and ambient music including compositions by Johannes Brahms, Sigur Rós, deadmau5, and Moby, as well as original stories and public domain fiction read by narrators including LeBron James, Stephen Fry, Lucy Liu, Idris Elba, Kate Winslet,[17] Beatie Wolfe, Danai Gurira, Joanna Lumley, Jerome Flynn, Terry W. Virts, Clarke Peters, Richard Hamilton, Cillian Murphy, Kelly Rowland, ASMR content creator Emma “WhispersRed“ Smith, League of Legends voice actor Erik Braa, Peter Jefferson, Freema Agyeman, Eva Green, LeVar Burton, Laura Dern, Nick Offerman, Harry Styles[18][19] and Matthew McConaughey, who began collaborating with the company in 2018.[20] Leona Lewis contributed narration to the sleep stories in 2018, supporting (RED)’s Global Fund to end AIDS, providing a day's worth of life- saving HIV medication to 100,000 people.[21]

The company also produced a nature documentary series for HBO Max, titled A World Of Calm, featuring narration from Elba, Liu, Murphy, Winslet, Nicole Kidman, Zoë Kravitz, Keanu Reeves, Priyanka Chopra, Mahershala Ali, and Oscar Isaac.

Reception

In 2020, HBO Max announced the launch of a series based on the Calm app.[22] The series is called A World of Calm.[23]

Publications
  • Calm: Calm the Mind. Change the World (Penguin, 2015), Michael Acton Smith, ISBN 978-0241201954

See also

References
  1. Gmelich, Krista (February 6, 2019). "Meditation App Backed by Ashton Kutcher Valued at $1 Billion". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
  2. "The Unbearable Irony of Meditation Apps". Wired. 30 August 2017. Retrieved 2017-10-12.
  3. Rosenbloom, Stephanie (2017-01-24). "Head Trip: Meditation Apps for Travelers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-02-20.
  4. Hamman, Brian. "How to Pick a Meditation App". Well. Retrieved 2017-02-20.
  5. Eaton, Kit (2016-05-04). "The Smartphone Way to Inner Calm". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-02-20.
  6. "Calm.com, Inc.: Private Company Information -". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2017-02-21.
  7. Cornell, Camilla (2 September 2018). "Meet Tamara Levitt, the Toronto woman who soothes millions on the Calm app". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  8. "Meditation app Calm hits a $250M valuation amid an explosion of interest in mindfulness apps". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  9. Levy, Ari (26 March 2018). "This meditation app is now worth $250 million and has Trump-related stress to thank". CNBC.
  10. "Calm.com: Number 19 on the 2018 Inc. 5000". Inc.com. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  11. "7 Mindfulness Apps To Help You Refocus". Time. Retrieved 2017-02-20.
  12. "How Mindfulness Can Help You Sleep Better". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-02-20.
  13. Dredge, Stuart (2016-05-26). "Five of the best meditation apps". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-02-20.
  14. Pinola, Melanie. "Calm.com Trains You to Meditate in Two to Twenty Minute Sessions". Lifehacker. Retrieved 2017-02-20.
  15. Buhr, Sarah. "That one time I was tucked in by a startup". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2017-02-20.
  16. Boran, Marie. "Happy little Zzzzzs with Bob Ross". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  17. Staff, THR. "From Harry Styles to Kevin Hart: New Content Studios Are Selling Meditation and Sleep With Stars' Help". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  18. "Harry Styles Says Meditation 'Changed My Life' As He Loans His Voice To Relaxation App Calm". Capital FM. 8 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  19. "Harry Styles Fans Are Living For His Soothing Calm App Story- Here Are The Best Reactions". Capital FM. 8 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  20. Roettgers, Janko (2018-11-21). "Matthew McConaughey Wants to Make You Fall Asleep, Partners With Calm App". Variety. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  21. "Drift off to sleep with Leona Lewis and SAVE LIVES with (RED)". Calm Blog. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  22. Heater, Brian (July 19, 2020). "The Calm meditation app is getting its own celebrity-filled HBO Max show". TechCrunch. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  23. Porter, Rick (July 16, 2020). "Calm App to Become HBO Max Series". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
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