Acquisition opens the door to payments and authentication through Proxy’s identity platform and smart ring patent portfolio
ŌURA, the company behind the smart ring that delivers personalized health data, insights, and daily guidance, announced its acquisition of Proxy, best known for its digital identity signal platform, in an all-equity deal. The acquisition of Proxy’s identification technology, along with its smart ring patent portfolio, will accelerate ŌURA’s ability to innovate and expand its market-leading smart ring technology, strengthening its position as a leader in the consumer wearables market.
Proxy’s digital identity signal technology, stored on mobile devices, replaces the multitude of keys, cards, badges, apps, and passwords and is designed to enhance data privacy in an increasingly decentralized world. Proxy has been in stealth mode, working to advance its biometrically-linked digital technology from mobile phones to wearables. As part of the acquisition, Proxy’s team, including its founders, will join ŌURA as full-time employees.
“ŌURA was founded on a culture of innovation, and has put great emphasis on building broad protection for our intellectual property. This deal expands ŌURA’s leadership in health wearables and signals our ambitions to integrate digital identity technology with our existing hardware and software offerings,” said Tom Hale, ŌURA CEO. “We are thrilled to collaborate with the innovative Proxy team to expand our addressable market, paving the way for new opportunities in areas such as payments, access, security, identity, and beyond, fueling future growth. With the acquisition of Proxy, we have the most comprehensive portfolio in the smart ring space.”
Investment in research and development continues to be a critical focus for ŌURA in several areas, including women’s health, illness detection, sleep, stress, and mental health. Through collaborations with a variety of research institutions, including University of California San Diego and the University of California San Francisco, ŌURA has contributed important studies to the growing body of literature on COVID-19 and reproductive health, demonstrating the strong potential for consumer wearables in the future of public health.
“As the healthcare landscape continues to evolve with the development of new technologies, encryption, and digital identity will become pivotal to enabling data privacy across industries for a frictionless security experience,” said Michael Chapp, ŌURA COO. “Continuous health data collected through wearable technology is the key to enabling personalized, precision care that will usher in a new era for the healthcare industry. ŌURA is a mission-driven company and a bold innovator, and we’re excited about the opportunities this acquisition will help to unlock.”
This announcement comes at a time of tremendous growth for ŌURA, most recently celebrating its 10th anniversary, announcing a new Medical Advisory Board, and rolling out its first US-based, large-scale retail partnership with Best Buy. Over the past year, ŌURA has announced successful partnerships with Gucci, Strava, Natural Cycles, and Therabody. In 2022, ŌURA launched Oura Gen3 Horizon and announced a capital raise at a $2.55 billion valuation, less than a month after reaching the milestone of selling the one-millionth Oura Ring.
“We’ve always had a vision for software that gives users sovereignty over their digital assets and identity,” said Denis Mars, co-founder and CEO of Proxy. “We’ve been hustling in stealth mode developing a wearable with cutting-edge biometric authentication and security technology for a ‘wave to pay’ future. By joining ŌURA, the smart ring leader, we can change the game.”
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.
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