The guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald, heavily damaged in collision with a merchant ship, docks at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, June 17, 2017. The deadly collision was linked to crew fatigue, something the Pentagon hopes to address with contracts awarded to Oura Ring. (Stars and Stripes)
(Tribune News Service) — The typical Oura Ring customer is likely a young urban woman who drinks matcha and goes to Pilates.
But the maker of the popular health tracking ring now has a different kind of customer: the U.S. Department of Defense. And it’s making a large investment in Fort Worth, Texas, to support its largest enterprise customer.
The Finnish company will open a manufacturing facility in Cowtown next year, its first in the U.S., to fulfill its defense contracts, according to a Wednesday release.
“As we deepen our long-standing relationship with the U.S. Department of Defense, we’re proud to expand manufacturing to the United States,” CEO Tom Hale said in a statement.
“We are committed to equipping service members and leadership with precise biometric data and robust solutions to support readiness, resilience, and effectiveness.”
Oura has worked with the U.S. military since 2019 after its rings were selected for use in fatigue research by the Naval Health Research Center. In 2017, 17 Navy sailors were killed in two collisions (on USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain) linked to crew fatigue.
Since then, its defense contracts have totaled more than $20 million, according to HigherGov. Oura Rings are used to help multiple branches of the military with stress management, fitness optimization, fatigue risk management and illness detection, according to the release.
Later this year, 1,600 sailors aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group will participate in a volunteer study on crew fatigue and be equipped with Oura Rings.
Oura says it has delivered “tens of thousands” of rings in support of defense initiatives, and Hale said the company will “continue to scale our multi-year partnership” with the agency.
The Fort Worth facility will also pioneer enhanced security measures and advanced automation that will expand to Oura’s other facilities in the future, according to the release. Users have reported that their rings were made in Finland, Mexico and Estonia.
“This investment will create high-skilled jobs, strengthen our local economy, and advance cutting-edge technologies — including those with critical applications in defense and personal health,” said the area’s U.S. Representative Beth Van Duyne.
Oura Rings have grown in popularity in recent years, hitting 2.5 million in sales in the middle of 2024.
In late 2024, the latest model, the Oura Ring 4, which starts at $350, was released, so it’s likely that number is higher. The company has raised more than $500 million in funding and was most recently valued at $5.2 billion.
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