Connected mattress and accessory maker Eight Sleep has acquired Span Health, a fitness-tracking app that aims to make personalized health recommendations for users. 

Launched in 2016, Span paired customers with a "performance coach" who could help them experiment with their sleep, nutrition and exercise plans. Users could also connect their wearables to the app to collect data on the results of those experiments. Eight Sleep makes sleep gear that connects to an app and monitors sleep and other health metrics. 

As part of the deal, Span's leadership team, including CEO and cofounder Patrick Samy and Chief Medical Officer Adam Bataineh, will join Eight Sleep's product division. 

"Eight Sleep has changed the sleep experience forever, redefining its position as the most important pillar of health by utilizing data and technology to make sleep more optimal, efficient and personalized. We're excited to combine our learnings from Span with the strong reach of the Eight Sleep brand to help their members and anyone seeking higher performance further optimize their health," Samy said in a statement. 

WHY IT MATTERS

Eight Sleep is pitching the acquisition as a way to improve the company's health-coaching services and expand its programs. 

"Eight Sleep's mission is to fuel human potential through optimal sleep. As we continue to build solutions to help our members sleep better, the acquisition of Span will enable us to offer additional tools for our users as they seek to improve every aspect of their health and performance through personalized services that match their needs," Matteo Franceschetti, cofounder and CEO of Eight Sleep, said in a statement.

THE LARGER TREND

In August, Eight Sleep announced it had scooped up $86 million in Series C funding, bringing its total raise to more than $150 million. 

According to a report by CB Insights, last year M&As in the digital-health arena rose 44% from 2020. 

So far this year, a number of acquisitions have been announced in the digital-health space. Connected-health-tech company Withings has already made two deals this year, including the purchase of Berlin-based 8fit, which it said will boost its ability to make personalized-health recommendations.