The Oura ring stands as a remarkable product. Its success has overturned many entrenched notions about startups: hardware is difficult, wearables are even more challenging, and competing with Apple seems unthinkable. Yet Oura has achieved precisely that—now, it has even confidentially filed for an initial public offering (IPO).
This boldly innovative smart device has successfully carved out its niche, offering a stylish (or at least more stylish than alternatives) method of health tracking by monitoring users' sleep, heart rate, body temperature, and numerous other metrics. The latest version of this ring, starting at $349, now adorns the fingers of numerous celebrities, athletes, military personnel, and even at least one prince.
Last autumn, during the completion of its latest funding round, Chief Executive Tom Hale stated that cumulative sales of the Oura ring had surpassed 5.5 million units, valuing the company at $11 billion. He also noted that Oura is on track to achieve $2 billion in revenue by 2026, a figure that stood at only $500 million just two years prior.
If the company could assign itself a "readiness score" akin to the daily morning scores its device provides to wearers, for an IPO, the rating would undoubtedly be "optimal." The core narrative it presents to potential investors should be that "the Oura ring is merely the starting point for a much broader future."
Currently, Oura has launched additional paid features for blood glucose monitoring and health data dashboards, and has integrated with popular applications and services such as the running app Strava. It is also testing blood pressure monitoring functionality. Hale indicated last year that subscription revenue already accounts for 20% of the company's total business, and this proportion is expected to rise further as Oura expands its bulk partnership business with medical institutions.
However, what is truly intriguing are its opportunities at the hardware level. Many predict that artificial intelligence (AI) will give rise to a new generation of devices: these will eschew screens, instead enabling more natural and seamless input and output through wearables. Yet, attempts in this direction have generally been met with lukewarm reception. The Ray-Ban smart glasses from Meta Platforms Inc. are perhaps the most prominent example to date, with sales reaching millions of pairs, but wearers risk being labeled "creeps" due to the capability for covert recording without consent. Meanwhile, both Alphabet and Apple have also entered the smart glasses market.
These strategies overlook a crucial point: for smart glasses to achieve true mass adoption, companies must convince individuals who do not require vision correction to start wearing them regularly. Simultaneously, they must persuade existing glasses wearers to abandon their carefully chosen frames in favor of bulkier smart glasses.
If not glasses, some believe the ideal form for AI might be a pendant or a brooch. However, these early attempts have also seen limited success, partly because, like smart glasses, they carry privacy intrusion risks.
In contrast, the barrier to user acceptance for smart rings is significantly lower. Oura's success in bringing its product to millions of users' fingers is the best testament to this. In a currently small but rapidly growing market, Oura's leading advantage is strengthening: according to market research firm IDC, Oura's share of the global smart ring market reached 61.1% in 2025, up from 58.7% in 2024. IDC analyst Jitesh Ubrani stated, "We expect the smart ring market to grow 14% in 2026, with sales reaching nearly 5 million units."
Building on this foundation, it is entirely feasible to gradually add more features in the future, such as enabling AI conversation by raising the ring to one's mouth, making it an AI interaction interface. Of course, it could also choose not to add any features. Oura's true advantage may precisely lie in its ability to choose "not to do these things," or at least to leave the choice to users. The key point is that Oura has already built sufficient credibility through its brand and product quality, enabling it to persuade its affluent customer base to explore these application scenarios.
Moreover, I do not believe consumers would be willing to wear multiple smart rings simultaneously; otherwise, everyone would start to resemble "Mr. T" with rings covering their hands. For this reason, I think single-purpose AI rings—such as Pebble's 01 or the Sandbar Stream Ring—will ultimately face difficulties. The Oura ring also focuses on a single function, but its function—health management—is one that consumers have already proven they need.
Of course, what could hinder its growth is competition from larger companies. Oura has been actively defending its intellectual property, having accused competitors of patent infringement multiple times, but it can only hold back this tide temporarily. More affordable alternatives have already emerged and will only proliferate.
Naturally, the greatest potential threat may come from Apple. However, I agree with Hale's perspective: Apple is likely reluctant to launch a smart ring, as it could cannibalize Apple Watch sales. In fact, I suspect Oura is already diverting some Apple Watch users. For many, the combination of a "smart ring plus a more fashionable traditional wristwatch" has become the ideal setup—offering detailed health monitoring while allowing personal style expression through a truly tasteful timepiece.
As for timing, the window for Oura's public listing is narrowing. Compared to the upcoming mega-IPOs, such as those from SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic, Oura is very small in scale; its valuation is less than one percent of the anticipated valuation for Elon Musk's space group. Therefore, if Oura waits until after these AI giants go public, capital may become exceedingly scarce. It should list as soon as possible, and investors should not overlook the long-term potential harbored by this bold, small company.
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