Jane Ollis
SONA solves chronic stress for millions through personalised vagus nerve stimulation, in an ear-worn wearable you use for 10 minutes a day.
Project
SONA
URL
Year founded
2020
Business stage
Seed
High-growth sectors
Life Sciences
Sector
Health
Location
South East England
Funding
Highly Commended Applicant
The problem and opportunity
Chronic stress drives anxiety, insomnia and long-term illness, costing the UK economy over £28 billion a year in lost productivity and placing huge demand on an overstretched NHS. Millions are affected, yet current options fall short: medication brings side effects and dependency, therapy is costly with long waits, and wellness wearables track stress without treating it. SONA fills the gap with a clinically grounded, drug-free intervention for home use.
The solution and innovation
SONA delivers vagus nerve stimulation through a discreet wearable, personalised to each user’s nervous system, a step beyond one-size-fits-all neurostimulation and passive tracking. Protected by two pending international patents and UKCA-certified, SONA is live in the UK and US markets, based out of the London Institute for Healthcare Engineering and building a unique dataset on how individual nervous systems respond.
Market and ambition
SONA targets UK and US consumers in the $50bn+ global stress management market. Traction: £500,000 revenue, 4,500 sign-ups, purchasable with pre-tax health dollars in the US Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA); a UK migraine study starts September 2026. Forecast: £6 million revenue by end-2027 across devices and subscription.
Founder perspective
A biochemist and former NASA researcher, Jane has spent 10 years inside the health system, chairing the Kent, Surrey and Sussex (KSS) Health Innovation Network and serving on NHS boards. She saw millions being failed by medication on one side and wellness hype on the other and built SONA to offer something with actual evidence behind it.
Women in Innovation Award
Highly commended applicant of the Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award 2025/26, receiving tailored business support, and access to specialist training and networks. View all winners and highly commended applicants from the Women in Innovation cohort 2025/2026.