How Oura Keeps Pushing Smart Ring Tech Forward

Time​ Magazine

2 days ago

On a Monday morning in late April, Oura CEO Tom Hale was feeling well-rested despite having stayed up later than usual the night before to catch the latest episode of The Last of Us . Clicking through data logged by his smart ring, he ticked off stats he was pleased with. Hale had gotten close to eight hours of sleep ('pretty rare' for him these days), including nearly 90 minutes of deep sleep. His 'efficiency'—how much time in bed he was actually sleeping—was 91 out of 100. 'My timing was perfect,' he says. 'I didn't get up in the middle of the night, which is a very typical thing for me.'
Hale's sleep stats are the very reason he decided he wanted to join Oura, the Finland-based company that pioneered the smart ring category. During a stressful period in the fall of 2021, he was having trouble sleeping. He bought an Oura Ring and then made a handful of behavior changes based on its feedback about his sleep habits, like no longer drinking alcohol to unwind in the evenings. Within six weeks, he experienced dramatic results. The fix 'made me want to be a part of the company,' he says. It just so happened that Oura was searching for a new CEO, and the company is now thriving under Hale's leadership. In December, Oura announced its member base and revenue more than doubled in 2024. It's now sold more than 2.5 million rings, including the Oura 4, which was released in October. That device introduced the company's 'smart sensing' technology, which tracks blood oxygen levels, heart and respiratory rates, skin temperature changes, and movement.
TIME spoke to Hale about what he attributes the company's success to, how health data can spur action, and why Oura is prioritizing women's health.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
These days, the ring can collect data on more than 20 biometrics. Which are you most excited about?
I'm trying to age gracefully, and the two things I'm concerned about are heart health and metabolic health. I hate to admit this, but I have a sweet tooth. So for me, the metabolic part is controlling my blood sugar. Right now, I'm wearing a continuous glucose monitor. As of May, our partnership with Dexcom supports integration of that data, which means it can flow between Dexcom devices and the Oura ring and app.
What I don't like to see is an enormous blood-sugar spike. I've learned there are some foods that aren't what you might consider to be a sugar bomb, but still have that effect. Rice turned out to cause a huge spike. Just by dialing back rice in my diet or consuming smaller portions, I'm able to stay within my range. That's important, because I don't want to go into prediabetes.
The partnership with [glucose monitor maker] Dexcom seems like a natural fit—two companies that value data.
We met with the CEO of Dexcom, and when he and his staff walked into the room, they were all wearing Oura rings. I was like, 'Well, I'm wearing a Dexcom sensor right now.'
That technology was developed for people with diabetes. We want to be part of the solution that keeps people from even getting to that stage. Part of that is understanding which foods are going to affect you in a very discreet way. The thing that's so powerful about this tool is that your glucose and your glycemic response and your insulin response are going to be different based on how rested you are, what activity you've done and when you did that activity. Your genetics and biome also play a role. So a big part of what we're trying to do is educate people.
You've described the Oura Ring as a doctor in the pocket—a tool to help scale up preventive care. What exactly does that mean?
Wearables are a tool—they're not the answer for everything. But they're a very powerful tool, both from the perspective of predicting things or giving you feedback, and educating you and motivating you to do the things that are hardest in preventive care—changing behaviors. For example, I stopped drinking alcohol [at night], and that was a behavioral change rooted in 30 years of my adult life. I changed it very quickly when I saw that alcohol ruined my REM sleep.
We're not trying to be like doctors—but the fact of the matter is, there simply aren't enough in the U.S. With Oura, you have something on your body that's monitoring you and knows when you have a deviation from the norm. I would call it algorithmic care. There's a set of conditions in your biometrics, and we can say, 'Hey, you're getting sick, you're getting a cold, maybe you need to be checked out for something a little more serious. Maybe you should go talk to a doctor and share this data.' It's ultimately a tool that's part of your overall care.
I've heard Oura staffers call what the company does 'giving your body a voice.' Is that a common phrase around the office?
We say it all the time. What's really different about Oura is the fidelity of the information because of overnight tracking, as well as the accuracy of the finger [as a data collection site]. Getting it right builds trust.
Lots of competitors are popping up, yet Oura's membership keeps growing. Do you attribute that to the trust you're describing?
It's a couple things. If the Oura Ring says to you, 'Hey, it looks like you're getting sick,' you might go, 'Oh, I feel fine.' But two days later, when you're on the couch surrounded by Kleenex, you realize: 'It told me something I didn't already know.' That's the magic. The degree to which Oura can surprise you with something you don't know happens frequently and is, on balance, more often right than it is wrong. It's not always perfect, but it's pretty close. That gives us an edge. The other thing that's really important is that we nailed the use cases for women.
How do you see women using the ring?
Maybe in your late teens or early 20s, it's about knowing when you're going to have your cycle and planning for contraception. Then, as you enter your late 20s or 30s, maybe it's conception. A lot of Oura customers are trying to conceive. One of the things Oura does is it gives you a really good signal about your fertile window—which is actually our first U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved feature.
Then there's pregnancy, a real focus for us this year. How do your biometrics change during pregnancy? What should you expect? Is this something maybe you need to talk to your OB-GYN about? But our vision is that we should be able to serve women and give their body a voice over pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause and menopause—that entire timeframe.
Are there stories you've heard from Oura users that really stand out in your mind?
So many. There was the grandfather who started to see his metrics decline. His grandkid was looking at it and said, 'Hey, grandpa, this doesn't look good. We should get you checked out.' It turns out he was on the brink of a myocardial infarction [heart attack].
There's a Paralympian who was visiting his parents at home. He's a sprinter, and he's like, 'You know, I'm not feeling great.' He's looking at his app and it's saying, 'Major signs, major signs, something is going on,' and he's like, 'No, I don't want to tell my parents because they'll put pressure on me to suck it up and keep competing.' It turns out he had appendicitis, and he basically credited Oura with helping him have the courage to say, 'I need to get this checked out. Something is going on.'
Those kinds of stories aren't strictly speaking happy stories. But people get the opportunity to have agency in their health journey and to take action. That's really powerful.
Disclosure: Investors in Oura include TIME owner and co-chair Marc Benioff