The Oura Ring Killer Out of India

Monday, Sep 16th

The Burn Rate

Only 2 years after selling their food and pharmacy last-mile delivery company RoadRunnr for $40M, the Bangalore-based co-founders, Mohit Kumar (CEO) and Vatsal Singhal (CTO), felt the urge to return to the drawing board.

It was Kumar's firsthand experiences of martial arts training in Thailand that initially sparked the idea for Ultrahuman, India’s leading smart health wearables company.

Witnessing his fellow athletes constantly tracking various biomarkers - like glucose levels, heart rate variability, and blood markers - Kumar wondered if there was a better way to keep track and interpret all the sensory data.

In 2019, Singhal, a Crossfitter and enthusiastic biohacker like Kumar, reunited with Kumar to co-found Ultrahuman. Although their initial vision was to help athletes train smarter, the venture quickly evolved beyond that original idea.

With more than a billion people worldwide suffering from metabolic health disorders (implicated in 85% of chronic diseases), Kumar and Singhal shifted Ultrahuman’s focus.

Ultrahuman began developing a continuous blood glucose monitor (CGM) to help address the problem. Over time, the company identified an opportunity to commercialize the technology for the general population, who were increasingly interested in understanding their health at a deeper level. This led to the Ultrahuman M1, a surprisingly sleek black patch that adheres to your upper arm.

Ultrahuman’s product line has continued to expand, now including a competitor to the Oura smart ring, an at-home blood testing system, and a smart air tracker (still in development).

The evolving focus on wearable tech has attracted individuals like Bhuvan Srinivasan (Chief Business Officer), who bring expertise in biometrics and business from institutions like Wharton, Johns Hopkins, and KKR to the company.

Kumar and Singhal have raised over $65M for Ultrahuman, including a $35M round this past March (2024) from Blume Ventures, Alpha Wave, and others to drive further expansion into the U.S. and Europe.

While the company has strong traction abroad, the question still remains if Ultrahuman's superior product ecosystem will be enough to outperform its well-established competitors in the North American market.

Learn more: Ultrahuman.com

Burn Rate exclusive story written by Will Sullivan.

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