Waking Up
Meditation app offering courses and training for beginners and experienced meditators
Website: https://www.wakingup.com/
Cover Block
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Waking Up |
| Tagline | Meditation app offering courses and training for beginners and experienced meditators |
| Business Model | B2C |
| Industry | Healthtech (consumer wellness) |
| Technology Type | Software (Non-AI) |
Links
- Website: https://www.wakingup.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wakingup
- App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/waking-up-meditation-wisdom/id1307736395
- Careers: https://apply.workable.com/waking-up-1/
Summary and Signal
Waking Up is a subscription meditation and philosophy app built around the teaching catalogue of neuroscientist and author Sam Harris, positioning itself as a more contemplative and intellectually framed alternative to mass-market wellness apps [Waking Up] [Crunchbase]. The product is described by the company as "a new operating system for your mind" and pitches itself as a guide to "a deeper understanding of yourself" rather than as a stress-relief utility [Waking Up]. Independent reviewers, including practitioners writing in Medium and Quora threads, consistently contrast its tone (longer-form, theory-led) with the shorter, gamified sessions of Calm and Headspace [Medium] [Quora]. The company's public materials frame its mission in unusually broad terms, stating that Waking Up "strives to help alleviate human suffering on many fronts" [Waking Up]. Funding history, valuation, headcount, and ownership structure are not disclosed in any of the captured public sources [Crunchbase]. For investors, the most useful 12 to 18 month watch items are the rate at which the catalogue is broadening beyond the founder's voice, any disclosure of paying-subscriber counts, and whether the company expands beyond iOS and direct web subscription into employer or insurer channels [Apple App Store] [Waking Up].
Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Confirmed across Waking Up, Crunchbase, LinkedIn, and the Apple App Store, but no financial or headcount figures are publicly disclosed.
Taxonomy Snapshot
| Axis | Value |
|---|---|
| Business Model | B2C subscription |
| Industry / Vertical | Healthtech, consumer wellness, meditation |
| Technology Type | Software (Non-AI), mobile and web |
Company Overview
Waking Up operates as a direct-to-consumer meditation and contemplative-philosophy app, distributed through the Apple App Store, Google Play, and the company's own web property at wakingup.com [Apple App Store] [Waking Up]. Crunchbase classifies it as "a meditation app that offers courses and meditation training" and does not record a founding date, headquarters city, or funding history [Crunchbase]. The company's own help center identifies Sam Harris as the principal teacher behind the app and the author of the book of the same name that preceded the product [Waking Up Help Center].
The legal entity behind the app is not disclosed in the captured sources [LinkedIn] [Waking Up]. The platform features a structured "Get Started" onboarding course, a daily meditation, a library of theory talks, and standalone sessions from named guest teachers [Waking Up].
The iOS app has been live on the App Store under the listing "Waking Up: Meditation & Wisdom" [Apple App Store]. Third-party coverage from outlets such as REBTraining and independent bloggers like David William Rosales indicates the product has been in active distribution and reviewed positively for its depth of content [REBTraining] [David William Rosales, December 2024].
Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Product existence and editorial scope confirmed by Waking Up, Crunchbase, and the Apple App Store; corporate details (HQ, entity, founding year) are not publicly available.
The Product and the Stack
The product is a subscription mobile and web app combining guided meditations with longer-form lessons on the philosophy of mind, ethics, and contemplative traditions [Waking Up] [Crunchbase]. The onboarding flow is a structured introductory course, after which users can choose a daily meditation, access standalone "theory" talks, or follow series from named teachers [Waking Up]. Reviewers writing on Medium and Quora describe the experience as more lecture-and-practice oriented than competitor apps, with longer sessions and a heavier emphasis on non-dual meditation styles drawn from Dzogchen and Advaita traditions [Medium] [Quora].
Differentiation rests on the editorial voice and authorship of Sam Harris, the inclusion of guest teachers, and a stated policy that no one is turned away for inability to pay [David William Rosales, December 2024] [Waking Up]. The pricing model is a single annual subscription, with the free-on-request option functioning as both an accessibility commitment and a customer-acquisition mechanism [Waking Up].
Crunchbase's tech-stack profile for the company does not surface notable proprietary infrastructure, and the product is categorized as Software (Non-AI) [Crunchbase]. There is no public indication of an AI-generated content layer, recommender system disclosure, or platform API. The single open role surfaced through the company's Workable careers page suggests ongoing hiring [Workable].
Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Product features confirmed across Waking Up, the Apple App Store, and multiple independent reviews; technology stack details are not publicly disclosed.
Market Research and Opportunity
Consumer meditation sits inside a larger digital mental wellness category. Demand drivers visible in the public material are consistent with what independent reviewers and user communities describe: rising consumer willingness to pay for subscription wellness content, demand for longer-form contemplative material, and interest in named-author or named-teacher products as a trust signal [Medium] [Quora] [REBTraining]. The Quora comparison thread between Waking Up, Headspace, and Calm is evidence of a recurring consumer search pattern [Quora].
Waking Up overlaps with general meditation apps (Calm, Headspace, Insight Timer), with audio-learning subscriptions, and with podcast and book purchases from the same author universe. Free substitutes put a soft ceiling on price elasticity for casual users, while the paid tier of the category competes for the same discretionary wallet share as audiobook and learning subscriptions [Quora] [Medium]. The product is positioned as wellness and education rather than as a medical device or therapeutic claim [Waking Up].
| Market signal | What the public record shows |
|---|---|
| Category trust hierarchy | Calm and Headspace are the recurring reference points consumers compare Waking Up against |
| Editorial differentiation | Reviewers cite longer, more philosophical sessions versus competitor short-form |
| Accessibility policy | Free subscription on request, frequently mentioned in user reviews |
Data Accuracy: ORANGE -- Demand drivers and competitive set inferred from independent reviews and user forums; no third-party TAM report is cited in the captured sources.
The Competitive Field
Waking Up competes in a consumer meditation segment dominated by two well-funded incumbents and a long tail of free and freemium alternatives, where its positioning is deliberately narrower and more author-driven than the category leaders [Quora] [Medium].
The incumbents are Calm and Headspace, both repeatedly named by users comparing options, both with substantially larger marketing budgets, and both offering broader content categories that include sleep, stretching, and child-oriented material [Quora]. The challenger and adjacent layer includes Insight Timer and a range of teacher-led subscriptions; Waking Up sits in this layer as the most prominent author-led product. The substitute layer is the free internet: YouTube channels, podcast meditations, and the audiobook editions of contemplative classics [Medium] [Quora].
Waking Up's defensible edge is editorial and authorial. The product is anchored to a recognized public intellectual whose audience overlaps materially with the target subscriber, and the catalogue extends that anchor with named guest teachers [Waking Up Help Center] [Waking Up]. The free-on-request access policy is a retention and goodwill mechanism [David William Rosales, December 2024].
The most exposed flank is distribution. Calm and Headspace have spent years building employer-benefits and health-plan distribution channels, and there is no public evidence in the captured sources that Waking Up has matched that motion.
Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Competitive set and positioning corroborated by multiple independent user-research sources; no funding or share figures for competitors are cited in the captured material.
Opportunity
The upside case for Waking Up is that it becomes the default paid subscription for the segment of consumers who want contemplative depth rather than stress-relief utilities.
| Scenario | What happens | Catalyst | Why it's plausible |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depth-tier default | Waking Up becomes the standard paid app for meditators who want long-form theory plus practice | Continued expansion of the named-teacher catalogue beyond a single author voice | Multiple guest teachers already on the platform per dynamic.wakingup.com course pages [Waking Up] |
| Author-led wellness platform | The model is extended into adjacent contemplative and philosophy categories under the same subscription | New course series in ethics, philosophy of mind, or rationality | The product is already framed as more than meditation, with theory talks alongside practice [Waking Up] [Medium] |
| Quiet acquisition target | A larger wellness, audio, or learning platform acquires for the catalogue and brand equity | Consolidation pressure on standalone meditation apps | Brand recognition strong enough to be triangulated against Calm and Headspace by name [Quora] |
Data Accuracy: ORANGE -- Scenarios are grounded in cited product and user-research evidence; no disclosed revenue, subscriber, or valuation figures are available in the public sources.
Sources
- [Waking Up] Waking Up - A New Operating System for Your Mind | https://www.wakingup.com/
- [Waking Up] Waking Up - Get Started | https://www.wakingup.com/get-started
- [Waking Up] Sitting Meditation course page | https://dynamic.wakingup.com/course/CD0364
- [Waking Up] Sam Harris teacher page | https://dynamic.wakingup.com/person/PEBV36
- [Waking Up Help Center] Who is Sam Harris? | https://help.wakingup.com/article/74-who-is-sam-harris
- [Crunchbase] Waking Up - Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/waking-up
- [Crunchbase] Waking Up - Funding, Financials, Valuation & Investors | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/waking-up/company_financials
- [Crunchbase] Waking Up - Tech Stack, Apps, Patents & Trademarks | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/waking-up/technology
- [Crunchbase] Waking Up - Financial Details | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/waking-up/financial_details
- [LinkedIn] Waking Up company page | https://www.linkedin.com/company/wakingup
- [Apple App Store] Waking Up: Meditation & Wisdom | https://apps.apple.com/us/app/waking-up-meditation-wisdom/id1307736395
- [REBTraining] Sam Harris Waking Up Meditation App review | https://rebtinfo.com/waking-up-meditation/
- [Medium] How I started meditation with the Waking Up app, by Woody Chan | https://medium.com/@woodyofthewood.chan/how-i-started-meditation-with-the-waking-up-app-as-a-trainee-in-hospital-88fb07cd3d33
- [Quora] How does Sam Harris's Waking Up compare to Headspace and Calm? | https://www.quora.com/How-does-Sam-Harriss-Waking-Up-meditation-app-compare-to-the-Headspace-and-Calm-meditation-apps
- [David William Rosales, December 2024] 4 Reasons I Like the Waking Up App | https://davidwilliamrosales.com/2024/12/18/waking-up-app-review/
- [Workable] Waking Up careers page | https://apply.workable.com/waking-up-1/
Articles about Waking Up
- Waking Up Is Selling Stillness to People Who Have Tried Every Other Meditation App — Sam Harris's subscription app pitches a philosophical take on mindfulness for users navigating stress, burnout, and chronic anxiety.