Oura Ring CEO: Future of Health Tracking with Wearables

Wearable technology has evolved into two distinct categories: those with screens and those without. The former, such as smartwatches, are designed to be constantly connected, offering notifications, fitness tracking, and a range of other features throughout the day. However, this constant connectivity can sometimes become a source of frustration. Many people have experienced the annoyance of checking their wrist for an urgent message, only to find a blurry photo from LinkedIn instead.

On the other hand, wearables without screens are far more discreet. These devices often take the form of wristbands or rings, such as the WHOOP or Oura Ring. Instead of receiving real-time notifications, users must open a paired app to access their health insights. With a single charge that can last several days and no haptic feedback to disrupt daily life, these devices are more likely to be worn continuously, both during the day and at night.

This continuous monitoring offers significant benefits for healthcare. Tom Hale, CEO of Oura Ring, explained this during a conversation with TUSER PARABOLANext at Web Summit Qatar. “Your health changes all the time, and a biometric wearable unlocks that,” he said.

Founded in 2013, the Finnish healthcare company initially focused on sleep tracking before expanding its capabilities to include stress, recovery, fitness, metabolic health, and women’s cycles. “We started with sleep because it was sort of like a Trojan horse. If you could get people to wear it during the nighttime, you'd be able to see their body at rest and be able to make interesting insights over time,” Hale explained.

“All these dimensions of your health are starting to be understood from a single biometric wearable. That's a really powerful place to be because people's health changes all the time. Your health will change over your life, and if you're a woman, your health changes every 30 days.”

Currently, the Oura Ring is positioned between wellness and clinical use but is not classified as a medical device. However, it is being utilized in various healthcare research studies. To date, Oura Rings have been used in over 200 studies, including the well-known TemPredict project, which examined early indicators for COVID-19 infections before symptoms appeared.

In late 2024, the company introduced Symptom Radar, a feature that detects signs of bodily strain by analyzing subtle changes in data. Users can then adjust their activity levels to support their immune system. “We’re thinking a lot about the power of being able to make predictions about your health in the short term and the long term,” Hale added.

“In the short-term, it might be, hey, you're getting sick in a couple of days, but in the long-term, it might be, hey, you have a higher risk of hypertension. You have a high risk of a heart attack. You have a higher risk of diabetes. If we can make those kinds of long-term predictions, I think that we can have a really big impact on the world of health.”

What’s Next for Health Tracking

The Oura Ring already provides users with a wealth of data, but the next major metric in health tracking is blood pressure. Around 100,000 Oura Ring users are participating in a study to evaluate the accuracy of its blood pressure measurements compared to the traditional arm cuff method. This includes participants across a range of blood pressure levels, from normal to hypotensive or hypertensive.

“This is the silent killer. Blood pressure and hypertension can lead to stroke. They could be precursors to heart attacks, and we want to make sure that we're providing the best, most accurate data,” said Hale.

“We already track temperature, respiration, and heart rate, and with the addition of blood pressure, we’ll have completed the four vitals, and that’s a really good picture for someone’s health.”

How AI Keeps Insights Simple

For many users, the amount of data collected by the Oura Ring can be overwhelming. This is where artificial intelligence (AI) plays a crucial role. The app starts by offering compound scores that reflect sleep quality, activity levels, and readiness. Additionally, Oura has begun using large language models (LLMs) to generate simple, actionable insights.

“One thing we hear a lot from people is that they just want to be told the meaning. They don't want the data, they want the insight,” Hale said.

“Instead of saying, hey, here are all your numbers, and you can figure out that you're getting sick from that, instead, we have the symptom radar saying there are major signs you are getting sick. AI is a very powerful tool because one of the things that generative AI, in particular, is good at is making those numbers understandable. That’s really been a game changer in the last couple of years.”

The Future of Wearables

For the foreseeable future, the Oura Ring will remain on the finger. When asked about the future of wearables at a Web Summit Qatar talk, Hale expressed doubt that the technology would become implanted soon.

“Today, the ring is an incredible form factor. This is the most accurate insight on the human body to measure,” he said.

“When you go to the hospital, where do they put the sensor? On the back of your wrist? No, they put it on the tip of your finger. There's lots of reasons for that.”

Instead, Hale envisions a “cloud of wearables” that could include rings, fabrics embedded with sensors to track electrodermal activity, and advanced biosensors capable of measuring ketones and other hormones.

“This cloud of wearables will give us a richer set of data and will enable us to make better predictions about your health,” Hale said.