This achievement marks a huge step forward in the blending of the digital and physical realms, and promises to bring scent to the digital experience. Through extensive research and innovation, Osmo has also unlocked the potential to discover never-before-smelled scents, pushing the boundaries of traditional fragrance science.

Scent teleportation

Osmo’s scent teleportation involves replicating real-world smells in a digital format, creating a way for users to "smell" something remotely without the physical object present.

Describing the process on a blog post about the success, Osmo wrote: “We select a scent to teleport and introduce it to a machine called the GCMS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry). If it’s a liquid, we inject it directly; if it’s a physical sample, like a plum, we use headspace analysis, which means trapping the scent in the air around the object and absorbing it through a tube. The GCMS identifies the raw data, which can be interpreted as molecules, and uploads it to a cloud. There it becomes a coordinate on our Principle Odor Map – a novel, advanced AI-driven tool that can predict what a particular combination of molecules smells like. This formula is sent to one of our Formulation Robots which treats it as a recipe, and mixes different scents to replicate our sample.

“Finally, we compare the original sample and the facsimile. Our goal is to achieve a high degree of similarity, ensuring that recreated scents align with their original odour families. With every trial we get a bit better at capturing every nuance. […]

“On a daily basis, we collect more and more data. We have already accumulated the biggest AI-compatible scent data bank in the world. This data is essential for training our algorithms. […] We use simple algorithms that use existing data to decode scents; Machine Learning Deformulation models to predict formulas from GCMS data; and of course our Principal Odor Map, a sophisticated model that maps odours into a multidimensional space for more accurate recreations.”

Discovering new fragrance ingredients with AI

Beyond its scent teleportation breakthrough, Osmo has also revealed that it is using AI to discover never-before-smelled ingredients. Traditionally, the fragrance industry has relied on familiar natural and synthetic ingredients to develop fragrances, however Osmo’s AI-driven research has ventured into un-sniffed territory.

In the fragrance industry, discovering a proprietary molecule – known as a "captive" – can typically take between seven and 10 years. This process requires extensive research, testing, and documentation, which strains R&D budgets and limits creativity.

Osmo’s AI-powered molecular discovery platform, Forge, is transforming this process. By streamlining captive development, Forge enables Osmo to create new captives up to four times faster than traditional methods, allowing for the simultaneous development of multiple captives. This rapid innovation will bring a broader range of possibilities to perfumers.

Osmo has released three new scent molecules, which are now available for use and purchase in the US and EU. These are:

• Glossine: “a vibrant, floral scent reminiscent of jasmine, with a radiant brightening quality shining through back and middle notes. This captivating molecule adds a dazzling, Las Vegas-style sparkle to any fragrance it's been used in so far”
• Fractaline: “a unique and versatile captive with dual personalities. Like the Gemini astrological sign, it has two faces. It can exhibit either a floral/violet or citrus/ginger scent, depending on the surrounding composition. As an added benefit, at low concentration, it simply increases the strength of a fragrance without imposing its signature. We believe its flexibility and stability make it a rare and valuable ingredient”
• Quasarine: “a captivating scent that evokes the radiance of a celestial phenomenon. Like a powerful ray of light, it illuminates the fragrance with a fresh and delicate jasmine aroma from the very top. Quasarine is the most intense of our three new captives, instantly noticeable from the moment you open an application bottle or apply it to your skin”

What this means for the future

Osmo’s advancements in scent teleportation and AI-powered scent discovery have the potential to reshape industries that rely on scent as a core component of the consumer experience. By integrating scents into digital and virtual experiences, companies could offer immersive interactions for users across entertainment, retail, and health sectors. Scent teleportation could allow consumers to “sample” scents remotely before making a purchase, or even enable entirely new forms of experiential marketing.

Also, using AI to discover new scent molecules could reduce the reliance on traditional raw materials. With fewer resources required for harvesting natural materials, fragrance companies could adopt more environmentally friendly practices, potentially reducing their carbon footprint and contributing to more sustainable consumer products.

As Osmo continues to refine its technology, these advancements can pave the way for novel sensory applications, merging the physical and digital worlds in ways previously thought impossible.

With scent now on its way in joining sight and sound in digital spaces, the future of multisensory technology looks promising, which can enrich our experiences and shape how we continue to connect with the world around us.

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