Developing adaptive audio for fitness, wellbeing and performance, Sineco has ambitions to be a global leader. With innovation support, the business is building the technical and commercial foundations needed to reach that goal.
covering 100% of project costs
new jobs planned to support this growth
users targeted by 2027
“A year ago, I was playing Glastonbury and touring with my best mates. Today, I’m building a startup.”
It’s not the usual founder backstory, but for Ben Etches, leaving his role as a full-time touring musician behind was the start of a different kind of creative journey: “I saw an opportunity to build something music has never been before: reactive, personalised, and shaped by your real-time data. That’s what led me to start Sineco.”
Read on to see how Sineco drew on GM Business Growth Hub’s Innovation Service to unlock the funding and AI expertise to move closer to commercialisation.
A new vision for sound
“Most people reading this will have a watch on their wrist that quietly tracks things like heart rate, pace, movement, sleep and stress,” says Ben, who has also mixed and produced tracks accumulating over 30 million streams, and written for major-label artists. “With the commercialisation of AI, this is the first time in history we can take that data, at scale, and transform it into real-time adaptive music designed to optimise your flow state.
“That’s why I stepped away from the stage. I saw an opportunity to build something music has never been before, reactive, personalised, and shaped by your real-time data, so I started building Sineco.”
Applying his expertise to a new kind of music technology venture, Ben’s ambition is to establish Sineco as a global leader in adaptive audio for fitness, wellbeing and performance, turning real-time data into music that evolves with the listener.
“Adaptive audio means moving beyond static playlists. We’re building technology that allows music respond in real time to what the listener’s body and mind are doing, whether that’s helping them focus, switch off, train harder, recover, or sleep better.”
From proof of concept to product development
With £12.5k in early funding from the University of Manchester as part of a separate, earlier project, the Tameside company built its first prototype, which generated music generated from written prompts. It was a useful proof of concept, but it did not yet deliver the real-time adaptive audio Sineco ultimately wanted to create.
In order to use biometric inputs, such as heart rate and movement, to create music instantly for fitness, wellbeing and performance settings, Sineco needed to develop the AI systems behind the product and a user-friendly app that that integrates seamlessly with wearable devices.
Ben first engaged with our Innovation Service in summer 2025. A diagnostic identified the practical steps needed to move Sineco forward, including reviewing its IP strategy, exploring hosting options, managing risk and finding the right technical partner to help develop the product.
Together, we created a project brief that was shared across the innovation ecosystem, and a Manchester-based supplier selected to lead the technical build. Sineco secured two phases of grant-funded support – worth £20,000 each and covering 100% of project costs – to work with this B-Corp-certified partner, which was able to support everything from AI and data pipelines to iOS app development.
The first stage focused on putting the foundations in place. This included defining how the system would turn biometric data into music, setting up the cloud infrastructure needed to support future scaling, and designing the early user experience for the app. The work helped move the business from proof of concept towards a more robust, testable product.
The second step built on that framework by moving the models into a production-ready environment and introducing the first app functionality. This meant linking the AI system that interprets user data with the music generation elements, so the platform could begin processing information in a more usable and scalable way.
This support has helped Sineco complete key building blocks of its proprietary AI platform, demonstrate real-time adaptive music generation, and strengthen its position for pilot activity and investor discussions. It also forms an important part of the company’s wider growth plans, including plans to create eight new jobs.
Positioned for growth
Sineco is targeting 50,000 users by 2027, but the commercial opportunity extends well beyond the product itself. By offering adaptive audio as a scalable service, Sineco could support fitness and wellbeing platforms, gaming companies and other partners looking to deliver more personalised experiences without the cost and complexity of building those systems from scratch – or relying heavily on licensed third-party music libraries.
Longer term, Ben wants Sineco to become a core adaptive audio layer for wearable technology, working with devices that already collect user data to create sound that responds to the moment. That could mean helping someone to focus in a busy office, feel more immersed in a game, or improve performance during exercise.
“Our bodies run on rhythm, whether that’s heart rate, breathing, stride or brain waves,” he says. “When music adapts to those rhythms, it can feel more fluent and immersive, because the brain and body sync with it more naturally. We’re wired for synchronisation. Music that matches our biology isn’t a gimmick, it’s how the brain naturally works.”
Joined-up support for Greater Manchester businesses
Sineco has also benefited from wider support across GM Business Growth Hub and the Growth Company that has helped the business build capability. This has included guidance on investment readiness and funding routes from our Access to Finance advisors and support through Create Growth, our programme for creative businesses looking to commercialise, attract investment and grow sustainably.
Ben has also taken part in Venture Forward, GC Angels’ investment readiness programme for underrepresented founders, helping the business build further momentum as it prepares for growth.
Contact our team today on 0161 359 3050 or at bgh@growthco.uk to find out how we can help your business, whichever sector you’re in.
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