Factory CEO Buys 30 Employees $3,000 Cooling Mattress Covers to Boost Sharpness and Output
In a bold move to optimize employee performance through better sleep, the CEO of AI startup Factory invested in high-end sleep technology for his team.
When Factory had just 30 employees, CEO Matan Grinberg purchased an **$3,000 Eight Sleep** mattress cover for each person. The decision, he explained on the "20VC" podcast, was about "optimizing for output."
Eight Sleep's smart mattress covers use circulating liquid to actively cool or heat the bed and can even split temperatures for couples. Newer models include adjustable elevation features.
Grinberg drew a parallel between his engineers and professional athletes, emphasizing the importance of recovery. "I want to make sure everyone is squeezing out every ounce of brain power they have," he told Business Insider. "To do that, you need to get good sleep."
A Focused Approach to Perks
Factory has scaled quickly since its 2023 founding. The company now employs 120 people and raised $150 million in April, backed by Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Blackstone.
Grinberg deliberately moved away from flashy, unrelated perks common in the earlier startup era — "the give everyone a bouncy castle" phase. Instead, he focuses on benefits directly tied to productivity.
He also limits processed sugar in the office, opting for higher-quality snacks like protein chips and canned matcha to support focus. Grinberg rejects both excessive coddling and "grindslop" culture that glorifies overwork.
"We're not running a daycare," he said. "I don't need to mandate certain hours."
The mattress covers haven't yet been extended to newer hires, but Grinberg is considering making them standard issue or offering a comparable health stipend.
Measuring the Impact
While he couldn't quantify the exact productivity gains, Grinberg noted that employees loved the gift. He stopped short of heavy monitoring, joking about not wanting to reach the point of "Billy didn't sleep well, so don't trust his code today."
Still, he remains confident in the correlation: "They're going to be better. They're going to have more of their wits about them. They'll be sharper."
Factory isn't alone in prioritizing sleep. Other leaders have experimented with similar wellness incentives, from Whoop's sleep-performance bonuses to broader "sleepmaxxing" trends among consumers using tools like Oura rings and specialized recovery aids.
In the competitive talent market, especially for fast-growing AI startups, investing in deep, restorative sleep may prove to be one of the smartest (if expensive) perks available.