This start-up is closing the pain gap with the science of sound

How Moonai app provides pelvic and period pain relief

Image: Unsplash

It’s 2020 and Laura-June Clarke is at the start of a 72-hour startup hackathon in Spain. Raring to go and prepared for an intense few days she shares her enthusiasm with the rest of her team.

But then a colleague confides in her - she’d started her period that day and is in pain. Feeling distracted and uncomfortable she is anything but ready for the hackathon sprint ahead. And taking painkillers would risk drowsiness or reduced mental clarity.

“That’s where the idea for the Moonai app came about,” explains Laura-June (LJ).

“How could we provide a safe, non-hormonal alternative to a painkiller that’s in your pocket when you need it?”

LJ set to work using her background as a pharmaceutical business engineer and interest in music technology, teaming up with co-founder Ivan Ferrigno’s experiences in the life sciences and audio technology industry.  

The result was Moonai app. It combines the proven approach of mindfulness apps with neuroscience-based sound therapy and educational content. 

“The science of sound is about altering the perception of pain, while keeping mental clarity,” explains LJ. “Not all sounds work - this is about using very specific sounds to alleviate pain and also hack productivity.”

“Users of our app listen to around seven minutes of scientifically-selected sounds and they tell us that relief from pain kicks in within 20-30 minutes. Our science tells us seven minutes is already sufficient to start feeling relieved.”

Helping people to feel better

After founding the start-up in 2020 a prototype was first tested with 131 women and non-binary people. The results were promising - a total of 80% experienced reduced pain. More trials and testing followed. 

To date, Moonai now has over 27,000 users globally, with the most popular markets being Spain, UK, US, Mexico and Columbia.

Most of that user acquisition has happened organically and via word of mouth. Like many women’s health start-ups the team have found that they get regularly shadow-banned on social media when talking about women’s health. In response, LJ and team have come up with creative marketing ideas - such a ‘sound experience’ event last year where they were able to give people an in-person introduction to Moonai. 

A new horizon for pain relief

Although the market for the app is already large, Moonai has also realised that the app can have benefits for broader health issues too. 

“So far we’ve focused on period pain relief and that in itself impacts as many as 600 million people globally. But we’ve begun partnering with fertility clinics now too. For many women - especially those going through IVF or whom are pregnant - they might need pain relief but traditional painkillers aren’t the answer.”

There have been accolades and recognition for Moonai - they were selected for Techstars Stockholm in 2023 and have also been named as Apple’s App of the Day in a number of countries.

Filling the data gap in pain research

Next for Moonai is exploring how they can also use their data for good. This is already a growing trend in FemTech with start-ups such as The Lowdown and Unfabled recently announcing initiatives to partner with organisations to share insights to help close the gender health gap.

With its own growing user base, Moonai has a rich source of data about pain.

“We capture information from users as they rate pain levels before and after using the app and for specific conditions such as endometriosis.

“By doing this, the app is also able to learn what sounds make a difference to pain and what types of pain respond to which types of sounds.”

As a result, Moonai is now partnering with companies who want to innovate in women’s health, particularly in pain relief. By providing anonymised data, Moonai hopes to see change within women’s health more broadly through making its insights available for use. 

This is all much-needed in societies where women’s pain isn’t always taken seriously and dismissal by the medical system is routine. 

As LJ sums up:

“Let’s end the pain. Period.”