Wearable tech solutions start-up Ultrahuman has announced that it has raised $35 million in an equity and debt investment round. The series B funding round saw participation from venture capital firms Blume Ventures, Steadview Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, Alpha Wave Incubation and Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal. Ultrahuman will deploy the funds towards building further manufacturing capacity and deeper research in the health tracking space.
Ultrahuman claims to be on track to surpass $100 million in annualized revenue run rate (ARR) by the end of 2024. It emphasised that its ability to make long-term manufacturing investments like UltraFactory, supported by its profitability, is unique in the smart rings market.
"This funding round marks a pivotal step forward in our journey to dominate the smart rings space, bringing us closer to our goal of being the market leader" remarked Mohit Kumar, co-founder of Ultrahuman.
According to International Data Corporation’s (IDC) India Monthly Wearable Device Tracker, India’s wearable market shipped 48.1 million units between July to September 2023, registering a 29.2% year-over-year (YoY) growth. With this, the market shipped 105.9 million units in the first three quarters of 2023, which is more than 100.1 million units shipped in 2022.
Continuous new model launches by the brands across price points and product categories are the key reason for this momentum. Apart from the new smartwatch and earwear models, smart rings became prominent during Q3 of FY23, with the overall average selling price declining by 20.4% from US$27.2 to US$21.7.
The smart ring category especially generated a lot of interest from consumers, particularly due to the interesting form factor and several launches in the past few months. “Smart rings add novelty to the wearable device space, with brands trying to position it as a fashion accessory and a non-intrusive health device. While currently there are very few models, we can expect more mainstream brands launching more affordable options next year,” says Upasana Joshi, Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India.
The IDC report stated that Ultrahuman leads the Smart Ring category with 75.5% market share, followed by Pi Ring at 10.9%, and boAt (Imagine Marketing) with an 8.2% market share in Q3 FY23.
Ultrahuman claims to have the world's largest and only multi-device health ecosystem. In addition to its smart ring called Ring Air, its product suite includes a continuous glucose monitoring wearable called M1 Live, a home health device called Ultrahuman Home and a preventive blood testing product called Blood Vision. Their health tech platform integrates glucose, sleep, movement, blood markers, and HRV, offering a comprehensive approach to health monitoring.
"The future of health is integrated, and at Ultrahuman, we're making that future a reality today by seamlessly combining various health data streams to empower preventative health and wellness," added Kumar.
A key driver of the company’s growth has been its expansion into over 150 retail outlets worldwide, including locations like London’s Selfridges on Oxford Street, Changi airport in Singapore, and the Virgin megastore in Dubai. It also recently completed a clinical trial involving 105 participants, aimed at validating the ‘Metabolic Score’ generated on the Ultrahuman platform.
“Our relentless focus on improving user experience through continuous firmware and software updates is what sets us apart," Mohit Kumar emphasized. "Shipping a new firmware version every two weeks and weekly app improvements reflect our commitment to excellence and our speed of execution, our biggest competitive advantage. We’ve also iterated in hardware at the speed of software by designing novel devices like Ultrahuman Home, a home health monitor.”
