Oura agrees to buy medical AI company Counsel Health for $625 million
Edited and reviewed by AI Ping Editorial Team
3-line summary
- Smart-ring maker Oura agreed to buy Counsel Health, a medical AI and telehealth company, for $625 million in cash.
- The existing Counsel integration is available in 43 U.S. states. It lets eligible members share ring data with Counsel and reach medical AI and physicians.
- Oura expects the deal to close before year-end. Counsel plans to keep its standalone app available for now and continue its institutional partnerships.
Smart-ring maker Oura said on November 10 that it had agreed to buy Counsel Health, a service that combines medical AI messaging with access to physicians, for $625 million in cash. The companies already offer a connection inside the Oura app, where users can share data from their ring with Counsel and move from an AI conversation to messages with a doctor. Oura plans to expand that work after the deal closes.
The existing service is available to eligible Oura members in the United States. Oura originally announced a June 16 rollout through Oura Labs, the part of its app that offers experimental features. The announcement sets out the purchase terms and the companies’ plans for the partnership. Counsel says people who use its standalone app can keep doing so for now.
Oura also released preliminary results for its fiscal year ended September 30. It reported about $1.75 billion in revenue, up 92 percent from the previous fiscal year. Fourth-quarter revenue was $533 million, an increase of 153 percent from the same period a year earlier. Executive chairman David Shuman cited Oura’s membership of more than six million in explaining the purchase. Oura says Counsel’s institutional partnerships give the service a way to reach people outside the ring maker’s membership. The results were unaudited when Oura announced them.
From AI chat to a physician
Oura Advisor, the feature that explains trends in ring measurements, remains available inside the Oura app. A member who wants a medical conversation can connect to Counsel to start a separate chat. Counsel’s AI can use the data the member has agreed to share. The member can bring in a Counsel physician during the conversation. That doctor can make clinical decisions, including issuing a prescription or arranging a referral when appropriate.
Oura’s current support guide lists availability in 43 states. The first 30 days of medical AI access are free for new connections. A $159 annual Counsel subscription in the Oura app includes access to both medical AI and physicians. Oura says $76.50 of the fee goes to Counsel Medical Group for physician visits, and that prescriptions or lab tests can cost extra. People already on an annual plan keep their existing price through the subscription term, with any changed renewal terms communicated by email.
Two decisions about sharing data
Connecting Counsel through Oura requires consent to send a set of information to Counsel. It includes sleep, heart rate and activity data alongside account details and some information the member has already entered in Oura. The consent covers the listed categories as a group. The choice is whether to connect the service with that scope of access.
Sending information the other way is optional. With separate permission, summaries of care and treatment plans can appear in Oura. Members can stop sharing in either direction. The companies store their records separately, so an action on the Oura side, such as deleting data, does not erase the medical record held by Counsel. The sharing controls also operate separately from billing.
What the deal means for people without a ring
Counsel works with health plans, health systems and employers as well as individual customers. Founder Muthu Alagappan said those organizations’ patients and members will still be able to use Counsel without owning or buying an Oura Ring. Oura says it plans to build on the two companies’ work in preventive, short-term and ongoing care.
In September, the companies announced separate work under ACCESS, a U.S. Medicare model for chronic care. Counsel plans to begin offering that service to eligible patients in early 2027. For participants who also wear an Oura Ring, the companies said measurements could be used with the patient’s permission. The Medicare initiative has its own eligibility criteria and is separate from the subscription offered inside the Oura app.
The purchase price is subject to adjustments. Oura and its transaction adviser, Latham & Watkins, expect the acquisition to close before year-end. The deal remains subject to customary closing conditions. Counsel says it will give users of its standalone app further details in the coming weeks.
Sources
- November 10 announcement of the agreement to acquire Counsel Health — Oura
- Transaction terms and preliminary fiscal 2026 results — Oura and Counsel Health
- Transaction adviser statement on the purchase agreement — Latham & Watkins
- June announcement of the Counsel integration in the Oura app — Oura
- Oura Labs guide to availability, pricing and data sharing — Oura Member Care
- Founder’s statement on the standalone app and enterprise partners — Counsel Health
- September announcement of the Counsel partnership under ACCESS — Oura
- ACCESS model overview — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
