Gathering insights regarding your metabolic or mental health once took hours and sometimes days of scheduling, testing and processing. Today, it’s as easy as looking at your wrist — literally. Nearly half of U.S. households own and use wearable fitness devices and there’s been no shortage of wearable brands receiving investments as well.
Tom Hale, the CEO of Oura, argues they’re just scratching the surface, however. At the 2025 ATN CEO Summit he joined Athletech News Found and CEO Edward Hertzman on stage to discuss wearables, how they’re disrupting health care for the better and how he’s positioned his brand for future success.
Oura recently raised over $200 million in series D, bringing its valuation to $5.2 billion. The brand also did $500 million in revenue this past year. Hale revealed that a large percentage of Oura’s total addressable market includes individuals who are not physically active and simply intend to age gracefully. That wider net compared to those of other fitness businesses has been vital to Oura’s growth, according to Hale.
“It’s actually to keep them from not stretching themselves too far,” he said. “So I think of our total addressable market, it’s fitness plus sleep, plus women’s health, plus heart health, plus longevity. It’s a much, much larger number. I think it’s been fundamental to our growth.”
“The most important thing you can have is a big total addressable market,” he added. “So think about it. Don’t limit yourself.”
Hale went on to explain Oura’s mission to transform healthcare, citing that new capital as necessary fuel for the research and development needed to accomplish that goal. Oura believes it’ll all be worth it, citing their ability to help individuals dodge at least a large portion of the healthcare system and its snares with its focus on preventative care.
“We think of ourselves as arming the rebels,” said Hale. “We’re delivering the value to the end user, to the consumer. What healthcare is oriented around is sick care. We know that the pharmaceutical industry has an incentive to get you sick. Why? Because they want you to buy their medicines. That’s the incentive of the industry, and I think we all in this room are focused on what is effectively some kind of preventative care, whether it’s for longevity, for health or for well being. So our view is that we can drive preventative care, and we can do that through a device.”
Hale added that 11% of Oura users are physicians, illustrating an understanding from those working in unison with healthcare of its benefits. He also reported that those aged 18-24 years old are the brand’s fastest growing demographic.
These continued efforts hinge on Oura’s usage of artificial intelligence (AI). While AI has been at the top of everyone’s mind for a handful of years now, Oura began using machine learning roughly a decade ago. What’s new, however, is how Oura is using the tech generative capabilities, specifically the large language models, to help users live better.
Oura believes this new level of machine learning needs to know its end user intimately, have a point of view or perspective and eventually provide advice.
“It remembers things about you,” Hale said. “Users are allowed to select where they want to be, if they want an aggressive coach who’s going to push them or they want someone who’s going to provide them lots of support. What it really does is it’s trying to build a pathway for you to change behavior.”
Data has already proved these efforts effective, as Hale went on to report that 90% of Oura users in a survey said they’ve changed their health after six months of usage.
Be on the lookout for more information on the ATN Innovation Summit, a can’t-miss two-day event to be held on June 17th and 18th in New York City featuring the biggest names, brands and ideas across fitness, health and wellness.
