Issue No. 302: Linking Up
ICYMI: The Finnish smart ring maker acquired Veri, a CGM-powered metabolic health platform, also from Finland.
What we know so far:
- Oura will absorb Veri’s team, while Veri’s brand and platform will sunset by EOY.
- Now live, a photo-analyzing meal log feature contextualizes food choices against metrics like sleep, stress, and recovery — tailoring advice to chronotype.
Integrating expertise and connecting dots, the combined companies will build toward a shared vision of simplifying metabolic health and nutrition for all.
Missing Link
Promoting preventative monitoring, CGM platforms from Veri, Signos, January AI, and others advanced glucose tracking for non-diabetics, but the concept has yet to reach critical mass.
Recognizing siloed data as a tough sell, startups have toyed with ways to demonstrate the metric’s broader impact — with Levels and Ultrahuman both adding blood testing services.
Meanwhile… Oura saw an opportunity to make glucose more user-friendly. The smart ring maker first integrated with multiple CGM startups last June before going all-in with Veri.
Investing in clinical research, it also partnered with Dubai-based weight loss company meta[bolic] to test a wearables-centered care delivery model.
Green flag. A likely catalyst, hardware makers Abbott and Dexcom began selling FDA-approved over-the-counter CGMs for the first time this summer. Removing prescriptions as a barrier, Oura’s integrative approach could make glucose a tenet of holistic healthcare.
Future Blueprint
“We’re looking at a future that takes us beyond the ring, where we can pull in a wide range of biomarkers from different inputs. That wide range of inputs, alongside our continuous tracking and context, will provide levels of insight that have not existed before.”
Syncing previously disparate data, the company hopes to put a 24/7, 360-degree picture of health on every consumer’s finger.
Firing on all cylinders, it spent the past year rapidly expanding features.
- September ’23: Improved Cycle Insights, highlighting womens’ hormonal health.
- October ’23: Added Daytime Stress, revealing how biometrics adapt to daily life.
- April ’24: Launched Symptom Radar, helping users understand signals of illness.
- May ’24: Debuted Cardiovascular Age, linking heart health to lifestyle factors.
In July, Oura tied it all together with an AI health coach. Demystifying common yet little-understood metrics, it surpassed 2.5M rings sold and tripled its memberbase since 2021.
Building an ecosystem, it also counts 600+ partners — including Natural Cycles, Noom, Strava, InsideTracker, Talkspace, Headspace, and Thrive Global.
Well-connected, Hale tells Fitt Insider, “Oura is uniquely positioned to enable members to make personalized decisions about their health with the help of their physicians when needed.”
A caveat, only 12% of Americans living in households earning $30K or less a year wear a smartwatch or fitness tracker regularly.
Knowing wearables and sensors price out the most vulnerable, January AI says its roadmap focuses on improving predictive algorithms and AI coaching to make costly tech optional.
Looking ahead: Acquiring Veri, Oura aims to make metabolic health as seamless as sleep tracking. Adding unrivaled context to insights, it could force consolidation among competitors.
🎙 On the Podcast
Ritual founder and CEO Katerina Schneider discusses scaling science-backed supplements.
An investor turned founder, Kat launched supplement brand Ritual after struggling to find a trustworthy prenatal vitamin. Nine years in, it’s a nine-figure business and category leader.
We also cover: challenges of scaling a D2C brand, building consumer trust, and product expansion.
Listen to today’s episode here.
🆕 Tony Robbins debuts longevity hotels, clinics
The famed life coach is teaming with hospitality mogul Sam Nazarian to launch The Estate, a chain of luxury wellness resorts and longevity clinics.
Check-up. Plotting a combined 25 locations by 2030, the first property—an LA longevity center—is slated to open next year.
For $35K/year, members receive blood tests, full-body MRIs, DEXA scans, and holistic treatments in partnership with preventative diagnostics brand Fountain Life and longevity spa operator Clinique La Prairie (CLP).
Check-in. Its first resort on St. Kitts will feature 100 hotel rooms, 90 residential suites, four restaurants, a medical center, and anti-aging medspa. Sites in Northern Italy, Switzerland, the UK, Miami, and the Middle East are planned for 2026 and beyond.
Health hotelier. From getaway to staycation, global brands are scaling longevity resort + clinic combos.
- Canyon Ranch launched urban clinics and debuted a lifespan-extension retreat.
- NYC-born The WELL is scaling in Europe, starting with a wellness club in Geneva, Switzerland.
- London’s Surrenne longevity spa opened with input from Dr. Andrew Huberman and fitness classes from Tracy Anderson.
Elsewhere… Equinox and SIRO are scaling fitness-first hospitality in the Middle East.
Looking ahead: Tracking to top $1.4T by 2027, wellness tourism is exploding. While The Estate attracts high-flyers, longevity will eventually cross price points — extending from the resort to the gym and beyond.
Presented by EGYM
🔮 Shaping industry change
EGYM has a clear vision for the future of health and fitness.
With connected fitness equipment, AI-powered gym software, and comprehensive corporate wellness offerings — it’s leading the shift toward proactive, preventative health.
For corporations. Partnering with companies worldwide, EGYM’s Wellpass program improves employee health by expanding access to premier fitness and health facilities.
For gyms. Upgrading gym floors, EGYM equips operators with smart equipment and AI tools to create hyper-personalized training plans for every exerciser.
All together, its ecosystem is transforming healthcare through exercise.
Learn more about its intelligent solutions at EGYM.com.
💉 Noom adds off-brand Ozempic
The weight loss company launched compounded GLP-1s direct-to-consumer, becoming the latest telehealth service to capitalize on semaglutide shortages.
Knock it off. The law permits selling compounded—aka custom-mixed—drugs when low supply threatens continuation of patient care, but regulation and quality control are questionable.
Unphased, consumers are turning to telehealth to receive off-brand weight loss meds within a week, for a fraction of the typical $1K+ price tag.
- In August, healthcare marketplace Sesame launched a $249/month Wegovy alternative.
- Shipping $199 injections since May, Hims announced plans to buy a compounding pharmacy last month.
Digital health companies claim their pharmacists are heavily vetted and patients thoroughly screened, but reports of fraud, careless prescribing, and overdoses are stirring controversy.
Blow it up. Consumers’ willingness to inject themselves with discounted, under-regulated drugs speaks to the broader lack of trust and access throughout the US healthcare system.
Plotting disruption, Mark Cuban is leaving Shark Tank to build Cost Plus Drugs — a vertically integrated online pharmacy bringing transparency to prescription med pricing.
Looking ahead: The market for GLP-1s is projected to hit >$100B by 2030, and everybody wants a piece. As consumers sidestep brand names and big systems, traditional healthcare is being forced to reckon with its faults.
📰 News & Notes
- PureGym bids on Blink Fitness assets.
- Tonal appoints new chief executive officer.
- Little Otter releases report on childhood suicidality.
- Nike kicks off sales of strength equipment in Europe.
- TRX launches functional strength rigs for gyms and studios.
- Hungryroot unveils AI-powered healthy food shopping assistant.
- ZBiotics designs new probiotic drink mix turning sugar into fiber.
- FitnessAI launches app-based, at-home body composition scans.
- DeepWell lands FDA approval for therapeutic video game framework.
- UK’s NHS pilots inter-hospital blood transfers with Alphabet’s Wing drones.
- Truemed, CorePower partner to enable HSA/FSA spending on yoga classes.
- Instagram, YouTube enact diet and fitness content restrictions on teen accounts.
- Hiring? Enlist Fitt’s community-driven recruiting firm to access top health and wellness talent.
💰 Money Moves
US 🇺🇸 / Canada 🇨🇦
Prebiotic soda brand Poppi added an undisclosed investment from musician Post Malone.
Retail platform CSC Generation Enterprise acquired outdoor gear site Backcountry.
Birdie Houses, a booking platform for golf trips, secured $2M in a round led by Old Tom Capital.
Active apparel company Lolë Brands acquired Louis Garneau Sports, operator of Garneau, Sugoi, and Sombrio cycling brands.
Franchise medspa operator VIO landed a strategic growth investment from Freeman Spogli.
NICE Recovery Systems, maker of cold therapy devices, raised $3.5M in funding.
Planet Fitness franchisee Easy Mile Fitness acquired nine gyms from Lubrano Franchise Group.
Europe 🇪🇺
Finnish smart ring maker Oura acquired Finnish metabolic health platform Veri.
Puraffinity, creator of PFA-removal technology for drinking water, raised £6.73M ($8.9M) from investment firm BGF.
France’s Jinko, provider of holistic post-cancer care, secured €2M ($2.2M).
Asia 🌏
Indian omnichannel women’s health clinic Newmi Care raised $1.5M in a round led by Sprout Venture Capital.
Australia 🇦🇺 / New Zealand 🇳🇿
Viva Leisure acquired a 34% stake in Boutique Fitness Studios, the AUS/NZ master franchisee for Xponential Fitness brands Rumble Boxing, Club Pilates, StretchLab, and CycleBar.
Today’s newsletter was brought to you by Anthony Vennare, Joe Vennare, Ryan Deer, and Jasmina Breen.
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