Dive Brief:
- Oura said Tuesday it plans to buy artificial intelligence-based primary care company Counsel Health for $625 million in cash.
- Counsel makes a service where people can message an AI chatbot about their symptoms and add a human physician to the conversation. Oura said it plans to pair the platform with biometric data from its smart rings.
- Oura is making the acquisition as it adds more health features and partners with medtech firms such as Resmed and Dexcom.
Dive Insight:
Oura plans to offer Counsel’s platform within the Oura app. The pairing with Oura can give physicians context, biometric data and member engagement, Counsel CEO and founder Dr. Muthu Alagappan said in a statement.
Counsel’s platform uses AI agents to take a person’s medical history, retrieve guidelines, review records and detect emergencies. Users start by chatting with the AI, which provides guidance based on this information, prior interactions and biometric data. Patients can choose to add a physician to the chat, who can provide a diagnosis, prescriptions or referrals as appropriate.
Oura expects to close the acquisition before the end of the year. It is subject to purchase price adjustments and customary closing conditions.
In September, Oura had sought to raise up to $2.2 billion in a planned initial public offering. However, the company chose to delay the IPO later that month, citing market uncertainty.
