Oura, the maker of a roughly $400 smart ring that tracks sleep, heart rate and other biometrics, and Whoop, which sells a screenless subscription-based wristband, are both preparing to go public at valuations of roughly $10 billion to $11 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. The companies have raised capital at those levels in private markets, representing about 10 times revenue.
The valuations reflect genuine consumer enthusiasm. Oura has sold more than 5.5 million rings, the company has reported. In the first quarter of this year, Oura became one of the most popular wearable brands in the U.S. by unit volume, trailing only Apple and Alphabet’s Google, according to data from IDC. Whoop reports more than 2.5 million members worldwide and has drawn backing from sports stars including LeBron James and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The devices deliver useful insights — from menstrual-cycle prediction to granular sleep analysis — that have fostered meaningful user loyalty, the Journal reported. Oura’s smart ring has drawn praise from celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow. Both companies market premium products that synthesize biometrics such as heart rate variability and skin temperature into actionable outputs: early illness warnings, recovery scores and training recommendations. Both benefit from subscription revenue and, notably, lack screens, positioning them as companions to an Apple Watch or as alternatives for users who do not want another screen.
For investors, however, the shadow of Fitbit looms large, the Journal reported. A decade ago, the pioneering fitness-tracker maker went public and soared to a market capitalization near $10 billion — close to where Oura and Whoop now sit. Growth eventually stalled as single-purpose trackers were eclipsed by all-in-one smartwatches like the Apple Watch. In 2021, Fitbit was acquired by Google for about $2.1 billion, less than two times revenue.
Consumer hardware is a notoriously fickle, low-margin business, health-tech analyst and adviser Stephanie Davis told the Journal. She said direct-to-consumer health brands face punishingly high customer-acquisition costs, forcing them to spend heavily simply to replace users who burn out on tracking their data. Oura is now running its largest marketing push to date, with ads appearing during marquee events such as the NBA Finals, the Journal reported. That level of spending may be necessary to sustain growth but weighs on margins.
The competitive environment is fierce. Oura has filed patent complaints to block rivals such as Samsung and Indian smart-ring maker Ultrahuman from encroaching on the market, the Journal reported. But even if Oura can stave off competition in the smart-ring space, the underlying metrics these devices collect — such as REM sleep or resting heart rate — can be tracked at no incremental cost by cheaper devices on other parts of the body, like a Fitbit worn on the wrist.
The biggest issue, according to the Journal, is the growth ceiling. Smart rings are one of the few wearable categories still expanding, but the adoption curve could weaken sooner than an $11 billion valuation implies. For now, Oura is capturing affluent and health-conscious consumers at the top of a K-shaped economy. The harder question is what happens when that market saturates.
According to IDC, global smart-ring shipments are expected to grow through 2027 but begin to plateau in the U.S. by 2028. Jitesh Ubrani, IDC’s research manager for worldwide device trackers, attributed that outlook to high prices and the absence of major functionality breakthroughs that could reignite growth, the Journal reported.
The one credible bull case, the Journal reported, is medicalization: wearables evolving from wellness gadgets into clinically integrated monitoring tools used by physicians and insurers. But that path is slow and heavily regulated.
If growth slows, valuation multiples could compress quickly, the Journal reported. Garmin — profitable, effectively debt-free, and growing its fitness segment at a robust clip — trades at five to six times revenue, about half what Oura and Whoop command currently.
The wellness obsession is a lucrative and possibly permanent slice of the modern economy, the Journal reported, fueled by consumers who scrutinize granola labels, train religiously and shop organic. But that is still a niche. “Just because LeBron James, who famously spends a fortune to maintain his body, can easily afford a Whoop doesn’t mean that most people will,” the Journal’s David Wainer wrote. “New public-market investors should think carefully before trying to follow him in.”