ŌURA, the company behind the Oura Ring, announced its acquisition of Finnish metabolic health company Veri. This acquisition marks a strategic move by ŌURA to broaden its digital health capabilities, particularly in the area of metabolic health, which the company views as a key aspect of overall wellness. The acquisition includes the integration of Veri’s continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) expertise, a technology that will help ŌURA further develop personalized health insights for its users.
Expanding into Metabolic Health
ŌURA, known for its focus on sleep, activity tracking, and overall well-being, has long sought to deepen its engagement in other areas of health. “Metabolic health is the natural next dimension of the Oura Ring holistic health experience,” said ŌURA CEO Tom Hale in the press release. Hale also mentioned that the company has listened to its users, 97% of whom have expressed interest in understanding how the food they consume affects their health.
By acquiring Veri, ŌURA plans to enhance its offering beyond sleep and activity tracking to include metabolic health insights. Veri’s experience in using CGM technology to guide users toward better food choices aligns with ŌURA’s mission to offer a more comprehensive health monitoring experience. According to Veri CEO and co-founder Anttoni Aniebonam, this partnership will help create a more complete picture of an individual’s overall health.
Growing Interest in Continuous Glucose Monitoring
Continuous glucose monitoring has gained significant interest in recent years, not only for managing diabetes but also for general metabolic health. According to ŌURA, a recent survey showed that 53% of its users are interested in trying CGM within the next 12 months. This aligns with growing trends in digital health, where personalized insights powered by wearables and sensors are becoming more common.
While CGMs are traditionally associated with diabetes care, the collaboration between ŌURA and Veri aims to expand their use to a wider audience. By incorporating metabolic data, ŌURA hopes to provide users with actionable insights that can improve daily habits, like when and what to eat, in relation to other health metrics such as sleep and recovery.
New Features and Enhancements
ŌURA’s acquisition of Veri also brings the promise of new features. The first of these is set to launch in the fall of 2024 with the introduction of Meals, a feature within the Oura App designed to help users track meal timing. Meals will be part of Oura Labs, an opt-in hub where users can test new features and provide feedback. According to ŌURA, this feature will allow users to better understand how meal timing affects sleep, stress, and recovery.
This acquisition comes at a time of significant growth for ŌURA, which recently surpassed 2.5 million Oura Rings sold. The company has also expanded its retail presence globally, partnering with major retailers like Amazon and Target. Additionally, ŌURA has built partnerships with the military, including collaborations with the U.S. Air Force and Defense Innovation Unit, further solidifying its presence in both consumer and professional health markets.
Looking Ahead: Integrating CGM Data
ŌURA sees a future where the Oura Ring experience includes additional health data inputs from sensors like CGMs, according to the company. This vision aligns with the broader trend of digital health innovation, where the integration of various biometric data points can lead to more holistic health insights. The goal is to empower users to take more control over their health by providing them with personalized, real-time data to make better-informed decisions.
The acquisition of Veri and its metabolic health expertise is a step in that direction. ŌURA is positioning itself to be not just a sleep and activity tracker but a comprehensive health companion capable of providing deep insights across multiple areas of wellness.
