Smart ring start-up Ōura raises $200mn as valuation leaps to $5.2bn

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Ōura, the maker of health-tracking smart rings popular with celebrities and business executives, has raised $200mn in new funding, doubling its valuation since 2022 to $5.2bn.

Founded in Finland in 2013, Ōura’s latest deal is one of the largest for a private European tech company outside of the artificial intelligence sector, which has absorbed a disproportionate share of venture capital funding this year.

Fidelity Management led Ōura’s latest round alongside US-based glucose-monitoring group Dexcom, taking its total capital raised to more than $550mn, according to the company.

Celebrity aficionados of Ōura’s rings include Prince Harry, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Aniston, executives at IBM and Delta, as well as Silicon Valley founders such as Twitter’s Jack Dorsey, Salesforce’s Marc Benioff and Airbnb’s Joe Gebbia.

Its growing popularity has seen sales more than double this year to about $500mn, with total rings sold surpassing 2.5mn. Tom Hale, Ōura chief executive, has said the company is profitable.

Ōura said the funds would allow it to expand its products into new categories, invest in AI and fuel international expansion, as well as possible acquisitions.

“We know that Ōura has the potential to change lives at scale, and we’re excited to continue leading the market in innovation while pursuing opportunities that extend beyond the ring,” said Hale.

Ōura got its start on Kickstarter, the crowdfunding site, in 2016.

Its rings, which cost upwards of $349 for the latest Ōura 4 model plus a $5.99-a-month subscription, track the wearer’s sleep, heart rate, body temperature and activity. A smartphone app turns this data into a personalised “Readiness Score” and offers advice on how to improve it.

The wearable technology and fitness tracker market has long been dominated by smartwatches such as the Apple Watch. However, unit shipments of smartwatches are expected to decline by 3 per cent this year, according to estimates from market research group IDC, while unit shipments of rings are growing by 88 per cent, making them the fastest-growing kind of wearable device alongside smart glasses such as Meta’s camera-toting Ray-Bans.

Bigger tech companies are starting to take notice of Ōura’s success, with Samsung launching its Galaxy Ring in July. IDC forecasts smart ring shipments will grow from 1.7mn this year to 3.1mn in 2028.

Health tech has been a bright spot for European start-ups this year, attracting $7.9bn in venture capital in the first three quarters of 2024, according to Dealroom.