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

Résumé détaillé

The deal comes a few weeks after Oura postponed its up to $2.2 billion IPO indefinitely, citing “uncertainty in the IPO market.”

Oura announced on Tuesday that it’s acquiring AI-native primary care company Counsel Health for $625 million. The deal comes a few weeks after Oura postponed its up to $2.2 billion IPO indefinitely, citing “uncertainty in the IPO market.”

Counsel Health is an AI-powered healthcare platform that combines a chat-based medical experience with access to licensed physicians. Its service was integrated into the Oura app in June.

Users can connect with Counsel’s medical AI to get personalized medical advice, and chat with a physician when needed, all within the Oura app. Now, the companies plan to expand on their existing partnership to build across preventative care, acute care, and specialty and chronic care.

While Oura has largely dominated the smart ring market for years, rivals like RingConn and Ultrahuman are emerging to dethrone it, putting pressure on the company to keep innovating. By acquiring Counsel Health, Oura is looking to expand its business and help users access medical care.

“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,” said Oura CEO Tom Hale in a press release.

Counsel Health raised a $25 million Series A a year ago, led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and GV. PitchBook estimates it had raised a total of $36 million.

Following the acquisition, Oura says Counsel will continue serving existing and new enterprise partners, with the goal of expanding its AI-native care model to more people beyond Oura’s membership.

Counsel CEO Muthu Alagappan will join Oura as chief clinical AI officer, alongside the company’s 70 employees, Bloomberg reports.

“At Counsel, we’ve built medical AI around trust, safety and responsibility, keeping physicians in the loop for clinical decisions,” Alagappan said in the press release.

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