The Memo: StimAire Re-imagining Sleep Apnea Therapy With a Wireless Injectable Device

Under the direction of Founder and CTO Tarek Makansi, StimAire is developing a surgery-free neuromodulation platform to treat obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) without surgery, CPAP machines, or daily maintenance.

Origin Story

Tarek Makansi is no stranger to solving big problems with elegant engineering. With a BS from Cornell and a PhD from UC Berkeley in electrical engineering, he began his career in data storage at IBM, where he rose to executive leadership and eventually served as CTO for IBM’s Venture Capital Group. “I was scouting the world for startup companies for IBM to acquire,” he said. “Then I left after 20 years and started Tempronics, which was sold to a Fortune 500 company.”

In 2017, after observing the bulky nature of neuromodulation systems, which typically involve large pacemaker-like implants wired to peripheral nerves, Makansi saw an opportunity to rethink the model entirely. “I noticed that for neuromodulation, people were using a large implant in the chest or the back and running a wire to the nerve,” he explained. “As a professional electrical engineer, I became curious. How much electricity was really needed at the nerve? It turned out that it was a very small amount. So I thought: there must be a way to miniaturize this.”

That curiosity led to the formation of StimAire and a platform concept centered around injectability and wireless activation, enabling office-based treatment for sleep apnea patients without the need for surgery. “I was able to get it to work,” he said. “Now I’m very passionate about bringing neuromodulation therapy to people without having to put them under major surgery.”

The Current Landscape

Obstructive sleep apnea affects an estimated one billion people globally, and while awareness has grown, treatment adoption remains low. According to LSI’s Compass platform, the sleep therapy devices and diagnostics market reached $6.2 billion in 2024 and is forecasted to grow at a 7.4% CAGR over the next five years, outpacing the broader medtech market. Much of today’s market is driven by CPAP devices and consumables, but future growth is being fueled by wearables, diagnostics, and next-generation implantables.

StimAire aims to unlock a significantly underserved segment of the market: patients who reject CPAP and are unwilling to undergo surgery for existing neuromodulation options. “50% of the patients who have a CPAP refuse to use it,” Makansi explained. “And only a trickle of patients go through surgical procedures because of the risks and recovery time. Sleep apnea is something that can kill you, but slowly, and it’s easy to ignore until it’s too late.”

By offering an injectable, wireless therapy, StimAire is positioning itself as the middle path: a solution with the efficacy of implantables but none of the friction. “Our device is silent, easy to travel with, and lets you sleep in any position,” Makansi said. “Compared to surgical devices, we eliminate general anesthesia, reduce costs by a factor of five, and offer immediate recovery.”

This blog is originally published here: https://www.lifesciencemarketresearch.com/insights/the-memo-stimaire-re-imagining-sleep-apnea-therapy-with-a-wireless-injectable-device 

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