Oura
"Own every day."
The story
Oura Health, a Finnish health technology company, was founded in Oulu in 2013 by Petteri Lahtela, Kari Kivelä, and Markku Koskela. Their vision was to create innovative wearable technology that could track sleep and physical activity more comprehensively and comfortably than existing devices. They developed the Oura Ring, a smart ring designed to collect health data from the wearer's finger.
The company introduced the first-generation Oura Ring through a Kickstarter campaign in 2016, generating early excitement and securing initial funding. This device aimed to provide in-depth insights into sleep quality, activity levels, heart rate, body temperature, and respiratory rate – data typically gathered by bulkier wearables. The formal launch at the Slush tech conference in 2017 marked their entry into the broader consumer electronics market, positioning Oura as a pioneer in discreet and advanced health monitoring.
Challenges along the way
Oura faced significant challenges related to product accuracy and user trust. Early models, like the second-generation ring, received criticism for subpar sleep tracking accuracy, with tests showing only 58.9% reliability on average. Additionally, the third-generation ring's introduction of a monthly membership fee, on top of the ring's premium price, caused considerable user backlash. The company also grappled with serious public scrutiny in 2025 due to reports of rings overheating and concerns over a data-sharing partnership with Palantir, which raised significant privacy questions among its user base.
Major milestones
- 2013Oura Health was founded in Oulu, Finland by Petteri Lahtela, Kari Kivelä, and Markku Koskela.
- 2013United States PatentFig. 20Ring-form biosensor filingsAssignee searchRead filing ↗
- 2015Secured initial US$2.3 million seed funding led by Lifeline Ventures.
- 2016Introduced the first-generation Oura Ring via a Kickstarter campaign.
- 2020Received 'Best Consumer Wellness Company' award and was listed in Time's '100 Best Inventions'.
- 2021Announced Series C funding of US$100 million and launched the third-generation Oura Ring.
- 2024Reached a valuation of approximately $5.2 billion with a US$200 million Series D funding round.
- 2025Raised US$900 million in a Series E funding round, reaching an $11 billion valuation.
- 2026Filed confidentially for an initial public offering (IPO) with the U.S. SEC.
Prototypes & people
Currently stocked
