Smart ring maker Oura is on a mission to scale as the race to own the wearables market heats up.
Why it matters: Oura and peers could look to buy emerging technology to stay ahead of competition, industry observers say.
Driving the news: Oura is raising $875 million in a Series E round, which could value the Finnish wearable maker at $10.9 billion, Bloomberg reported this week.
- The news follows other wearables developments from big tech players. Earlier this month, Apple added heart monitoring features to its AirPods Pro 3, while Meta debuted a smart wristband that connects to its glasses.
- Oura declined to comment, instead directing Axios to a Monday release announcing a new $250 million revolving credit facility and projecting $1 billion in revenue this year.
Zoom in: Health and fitness companies that build sensors could be at the top of acquirers' wish lists, Jitesh Ubrani, research manager at IDC, says.
- Security or AI-related use cases could also be attractive to established companies.
Between the lines: Most players have largely settled on specific hardware form factors and are trying differentiate based on device size and software, Neal Batra, head of Deloitte's Future of Health practice, says.
Context: The current market is divided into two distinct categories: wellness, and chronic condition management.
The intrigue: Increasingly, the two are joining forces. Dexcom announced a $75 million investment in Oura last year.
- Also in 2024, Oura acquired personalized metabolic health company Veri and data platform Sparta Science. It bought digital identity and security company Proxy in 2023.
Zoom out: Wearables have undergone boom and bust cycles, but this era is buoyed by HHS Secretary RFK Jr.'s "Make America Healthy Again" agenda.
- "My vision is that every American is wearing a wearable within four years," he told Congress in July.
Friction point: Large consumer companies have incentives to keep adding features, but securing FDA and compliance approvals can be expensive and timely.
- "If you're a sick care business, it's very difficult to also be a wellness business," Batra says.
