Oura Plans September IPO, Aiming for Valuation Over $16 Billion

Oura, the producer of smart rings with offices located in San Francisco and Finland, is reportedly preparing to raise as much as $3 billion in a U.S. IPO scheduled for next month, which could value the company—now employing over 900 individuals—at more than $16 billion, as per Bloomberg. The report also indicates that investors may liquidate a substantial portion of their stock during this offering.

Achieving a $16 billion valuation would mark a significant rise from the $10.9 billion valuation given to Oura last September, following an $875 million Series E funding round supported by Fidelity, ICONIQ, Whale Rock, and Atreides. This followed earlier investments from firms such as Dexcom, The Chernin Group, Forerunner Ventures, Coatue, and Temasek.

The wearables market has rapidly become highly competitive.

Samsung unveiled its Galaxy Ring two years ago, but Oura’s most direct competitor appears to be Whoop, a manufacturer of fitness bands that has also experienced a transformation. Initially targeted at elite athletes and younger males, Whoop has expanded its focus over the last year to attract a broader audience by including hormone tracking and blood-panel testing for issues like perimenopause and thyroid health. This shift elevated its valuation to $10 billion back in March. Similarly, Oura has evolved from serving biohacking CEOs to establishing itself as a mainstream brand dedicated to sleep and recovery.

In May, Oura announced its confidential filing for an IPO.

However, not all recent news concerning Oura has been positive. A proposed class action lawsuit was filed last week in San Francisco, accusing Oura of misleading consumers about the accuracy of its sleep tracking features. The lawsuit alleges that Oura claims the ability “to measure a heartbeat or temperature, as well as determine the exact stage of sleep the user is in—something that necessitates electrodes on the scalp and sensors on the eyes, achievable only in a clinical environment.”

In response to TechCrunch over the weekend, a company spokesperson denied the allegations, stating: “While the Oura Ring is not a medical device or a substitute for a clinical sleep study, Oura’s sleep staging has been validated and positively compared in several studies against polysomnography, the industry benchmark… Numerous independent third-party studies corroborate our accuracy claims, and we have transparently shared the mechanisms and measures that support Oura’s sleep staging.”

The company refutes the allegations and “will defend against them in the appropriate legal forum,” the representative added.