Oura, the maker of the popular health-focused smart ring, is acquiring Counsel Health, “an AI-native primary care company.”

Oura made a name for itself in the wearable tech industry, competing against the likes of Apple, Google, and Samsung. Counsel, on the other hand, “combines medical AI with in-house physicians to deliver immediate, high-quality guidance and care.” Acquiring Counsel gives Oura and its customers access to the network of human doctors, making the Oura wearables that much more valuable to their users.

By pairing Oura’s continuous biometric data with Counsel’s platform and on-demand human doctors, Oura Members receive care across a spectrum of needs. Members can start from an Oura insight or immediately chat with Counsel’s medical AI to get personalized medical advice. When needed, the conversation can escalate to a board-certified Counsel physician within minutes, all within the Oura App. The acquisition accelerates the delivery of Oura’s vision of more proactive, personalized healthcare while advancing Counsel’s vision of expanding access to care through responsibly designed medical AI.

“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 Tom Hale, chief executive officer of Oura. “Together, we can create a new model of care that extends the current healthcare paradigm by delivering an experience that’s more immediate, personalized, and proactive. This is a massive step in our mission to empower people to live healthier, longer, by delivering on the promise of a 24-7 doctor in your pocket.”

“Continuous health context makes medical AI more useful and relevant by delivering guidance that is personalized to each person’s health,” said Muthu Alagappan, MD, founder and chief executive officer of Counsel Health. “At Counsel, we’ve built medical AI around trust, safety and responsibility, keeping physicians in the loop for clinical decisions. Oura’s data gives clinicians objective context, trended biometrics, and member engagement to deliver more informed care. From the start, our teams bonded over a joint vision, shared culture, and mission, further solidifying as we negotiated our deal over the past few months. I am thrilled to join Oura to make high-quality care more accessible across a wide range of acute and chronic conditions.”

Oura says the two companies plan to build on their existing partnership to assist customers in three specific areas:

• Preventive care: helping members recognize potential changes in their health earlier via continuous monitoring to take proactive steps with clinical guidance.
• Acute care: connecting members with medical AI and physicians for timely guidance, support or prescriptions for episodic health concerns.
• Specialty and chronic care: providing ongoing support for health needs that require continuous management, including reproductive health, aging and cardiometabolic health.

The Counsel acquisition represents a major game changer for Oura, giving it a competitive advantage over its larger rivals.