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Oura

“Can a health wearable company — armed with biometric-grade identity data and 5.5M ring users — become the authentication and payments layer for digital identity?”

Founded2013
HQOulu, Finland
FoundersPetteri Lahtela, Kari Kivelä, Markku Koskela
Total raised$1.1B+
Latest roundSeries E, October 2025
Valuation$11B post-money (2025)
IndustryVertical SaaS / Healthcare
The story

Founded in 2013 as a hardware-focused health wearable company in Oulu, Finland, Oura built the smart ring category around sleep and recovery tracking. After pivoting to a subscription-driven data platform model (membership fee), the company scaled to 5.5 million rings and ~$1B in annual revenue by 2025. The 2023 acquisition of identity firm Proxy signals a longer-term move into wearable-based digital identity and payments, positioning the Oura Ring as potential authentication infrastructure beyond health. The confidential S-1 filing in May 2026 marks the next chapter as a public company.

Last 12 months
2025-10
2026-05
2025-08
Product timeline
2013
Founded in Oulu, Finland by Petteri Lahtela, Kari Kivelä, and Markku Koskela.· pivot
2016
Launched first-generation Oura Ring via Kickstarter.· hardware
2017
Officially launched the Oura Ring at the Slush tech conference.· hardware
2020
Partnered with NBA for COVID-19 detection research; named Time magazine's 100 Best Inventions.· pivot
2022
Tom Hale appointed CEO; company launched Oura Ring Gen 3.· hardware
2023
Acquired identity firm Proxy, signaling intent to enter wearable digital identity and payments market.· acquisition
2025
Raised $900M Series E at $11B valuation led by Fidelity; surpassed 5.5 million rings sold.· banking
2026
Confidentially filed Form S-1 with the SEC in preparation for an IPO.· ipo
The stack
1 layer disclosed in Oura’s embedded-finance stack
Lending
AffirmAffirm BNPL (consumer installment financing at checkout)
Accounting gap: none