Oura to acquire AI-native primary care startup Counsel Health for $625M

Oura announced Tuesday it is acquiring AI-native primary care company Counsel Health for $625 million, a deal arriving just weeks after the smart ring maker postponed an IPO of up to $2.2 billion indefinitely, citing "uncertainty in the IPO market."

Counsel Health operates an AI-powered healthcare platform pairing a chat-based medical experience with access to licensed physicians. That service was already integrated into the Oura app in June, letting members request personalized medical advice or talk to a physician in-app. The companies now plan to broaden the partnership across preventive care, acute care, and specialty and chronic care.

Oura has led the smart ring market for years, but rivals such as RingConn and Ultrahuman are emerging to challenge it, pressuring the company to keep innovating and find new revenue beyond hardware. CEO Tom Hale framed the acquisition as extending Oura's reach from sensing to action: "Oura helps members understand their physiology and, with Counsel, they can take action on their health across a range of needs, from quick questions and prescriptions to lab results, chronic care, and referrals."

Counsel raised a $25 million Series A a year ago led by Andreessen Horowitz and GV, with Pitchbook estimating total fundraising of roughly $36 million. Its CEO, Muthu Alagappan, will join Oura as chief clinical AI officer along with the company's 70 employees, Bloomberg reports. Alagappan said Counsel built medical AI "around trust, safety and responsibility, keeping physicians in the loop for clinical decisions," and that Oura's data gives clinicians trended biometrics and objective context for more informed care.

Financially, Oura said revenue grew 153% year over year to $533 million for the quarter ended September 30, and that fiscal year 2026 revenue reached about $1.75 billion, up 92% year over year. The company hit an $11 billion valuation after a $900 million late-stage round in October 2025. Post-close, Oura says Counsel will keep serving existing and new enterprise partners, aiming to extend its AI-native care model to people beyond Oura's membership.

What to watch: whether the deal repositions Oura as a care delivery company rather than a device maker, and how a hardware-centric brand manages clinical liability, physician oversight, and enterprise healthcare relationships. Open questions include how quickly the in-app care expands beyond preventive and chronic services, whether the postponed IPO reappears once revenue from the combined business is visible, and whether RingConn and Ultrahuman pressure forces further M&A or faster product cycles.

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