Qualcomm backs Ultrahuman in $70M round on bet to turn smart rings into computers
Qualcomm backs Ultrahuman in $70M round on bet to turn smart rings into computers
高通领投 Ultrahuman 7000 万美元融资，押注将智能戒指打造为微型计算机
Ultrahuman, an Indian startup best known for making smart rings, has raised $70 million in a new funding round that includes backing from Qualcomm’s venture arm, as it looks beyond sleep and health tracking to build a ring that can run software on the device and eventually power everything from AI interactions to games. The round values Bengaluru-based Ultrahuman at $365 million, about 3x its $120 million valuation in 2023, a person familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.
以制造智能戒指而闻名的印度初创公司 Ultrahuman 近日完成了 7000 万美元的新一轮融资，其中包括高通风险投资部门（Qualcomm Ventures）的注资。该公司正寻求超越睡眠和健康追踪领域，旨在打造一款能够直接在设备上运行软件的戒指，并最终支持从 AI 交互到游戏等各种功能。据知情人士向 TechCrunch 透露，本轮融资对这家总部位于班加罗尔的公司估值为 3.65 亿美元，约为其 2023 年 1.2 亿美元估值的三倍。
Qualcomm Ventures participated in the financing alongside U.S. diagnostics giant Labcorp, Alpha Wave, Blume Ventures, Nexus Venture Partners, and Alteria Capital. The round includes $65 million in primary equity and $5 million in debt, Ultrahuman founder and CEO Mohit Kumar said in an interview. Ultrahuman is also working with Qualcomm on a new ring that will use the U.S. chipmaker’s silicon, Kumar told TechCrunch. The startup currently uses chips from Nordic Semiconductor in its rings and plans to continue using them alongside Qualcomm’s technology. The added computing power will allow more software and algorithms to run directly on the ring, reducing its reliance on a phone or the cloud, he said.
除高通外，参与本轮融资的还有美国诊断巨头 Labcorp、Alpha Wave、Blume Ventures、Nexus Venture Partners 和 Alteria Capital。Ultrahuman 创始人兼首席执行官 Mohit Kumar 在接受采访时表示，本轮融资包括 6500 万美元的股权融资和 500 万美元的债务融资。Kumar 向 TechCrunch 透露，Ultrahuman 正在与高通合作开发一款使用该芯片制造商芯片的新型戒指。目前，该初创公司在戒指中使用的是 Nordic Semiconductor 的芯片，并计划在未来继续将其与高通的技术结合使用。他表示，增加的计算能力将使更多的软件和算法能够直接在戒指上运行，从而减少对手机或云端的依赖。
“All ring devices today are like trackers,” Kumar said. “You put on the ring, it measures your heart rate, your movement, your sleep.” Ultrahuman’s goal, he stated, is to make the ring more like a computer, where programs and algorithms can run on the device itself. This could open the ring to use cases well beyond health and sleep tracking, something Ultrahuman rings are known for. Developers, Kumar said, could eventually write their own programs for the device, while Ultrahuman is exploring ways for the ring to work as a pointer or mouse, a game controller, a car key, and an interface for interacting with AI.
“目前所有的戒指设备都像是追踪器，”Kumar 说道，“你戴上戒指，它测量你的心率、运动和睡眠。”他表示，Ultrahuman 的目标是让戒指更像一台计算机，使程序和算法能够直接在设备上运行。这将使戒指的应用场景远远超出其目前所擅长的健康和睡眠追踪领域。Kumar 称，开发者最终可以为该设备编写自己的程序，而 Ultrahuman 正在探索让戒指充当指针或鼠标、游戏控制器、车钥匙以及与 AI 交互的接口等多种功能。
“The future of AI is personal, ambient, and always on,” said Quinn Li, global head of Qualcomm Ventures, adding that Ultrahuman is building a new generation of “personal AI devices.” While the Qualcomm-powered ring is planned to come later, Ultrahuman is not waiting for the new hardware to start testing that idea. Kumar told TechCrunch that some of the new capabilities will arrive on the startup’s existing Ring Air and Ring Pro through a software update by the end of September, including features that would let the ring work as a game controller and interact with AI applications. It will also have the ability to allow third-party developers to build new features.
高通风险投资全球负责人 Quinn Li 表示：“AI 的未来是个性化、环境化且始终在线的。”他补充说，Ultrahuman 正在构建新一代的“个人 AI 设备”。虽然搭载高通芯片的戒指计划稍后推出，但 Ultrahuman 并没有等待新硬件到位才开始测试这一构想。Kumar 向 TechCrunch 透露，部分新功能将在 9 月底前通过软件更新推送至现有的 Ring Air 和 Ring Pro 设备上，包括让戒指充当游戏控制器并与 AI 应用交互的功能。此外，该设备还将支持第三方开发者构建新功能。
Ultrahuman’s idea is to take advantage of the ring’s position on a user’s finger, Kumar said. Unlike a smartwatch, which he described as more akin to “a phone on the wrist,” a ring could act as a precise pointing and interaction device while also carrying physiological context such as a user’s heart rate, temperature, and movement. “A game controller never reads your heart rate and your temperature, but this one does,” Kumar said. He continued by imagining games that could respond not only to a player’s movements but also to signals such as their heart rate and body temperature, making the ring both a controller and a source of physiological context.
Kumar 表示，Ultrahuman 的核心理念是利用戒指佩戴在手指上的位置优势。他将智能手表描述为“手腕上的手机”，而戒指则可以作为一种精确的指向和交互设备，同时还能携带心率、体温和运动等生理数据。Kumar 说：“游戏控制器从不读取你的心率和体温，但这款戒指可以。”他进一步畅想了未来的游戏场景：游戏不仅能响应玩家的动作，还能根据心率和体温等信号做出反应，使戒指既是控制器，又是生理数据的来源。
The business behind the bet
押注背后的商业逻辑
Meanwhile, Ultrahuman’s existing business is growing even as the startup looks to expand what its rings can do. The startup, Kumar said, is currently at an annual revenue run rate of $140 million, up roughly 45% from a year earlier, and expects that run rate to reach $200 million by January 2027. It has sold around 800,000 rings to date, up from about 700,000 in February, Kumar mentioned. About 12% of its users also pay for PowerPlugs, Ultrahuman’s subscription-based software features.
与此同时，尽管 Ultrahuman 正在寻求扩展其戒指的功能，但其现有业务也在不断增长。Kumar 表示，该公司目前的年收入运行率（run rate）为 1.4 亿美元，较一年前增长了约 45%，并预计到 2027 年 1 月，这一数字将达到 2 亿美元。Kumar 提到，迄今为止，公司已售出约 80 万枚戒指，高于 2 月份的约 70 万枚。约 12% 的用户还会付费订阅 Ultrahuman 的软件功能 PowerPlugs。
Co-founded by Kumar and Vatsal Singhal in 2019, Ultrahuman initially debuted with its continuous glucose monitors to help people track their metabolic health. The startup, however, later moved into smart rings, which have since become the mainstay of its business. It also introduced blood testing and environmental sensing to build a broader health platform. The U.S. remains Ultrahuman’s largest market, though the startup had to stop selling its Ring Air here for much of the past year following a patent dispute with rival Oura. Ultrahuman returned to the market with its redesigned Ring Pro this year.
Ultrahuman 由 Kumar 和 Vatsal Singhal 于 2019 年共同创立，最初以连续血糖监测仪起家，旨在帮助人们追踪代谢健康。然而，该公司后来转向智能戒指领域，并将其发展为业务支柱。此外，它还引入了血液检测和环境感知功能，以构建更广泛的健康平台。美国仍然是 Ultrahuman 最大的市场，尽管由于与竞争对手 Oura 的专利纠纷，该公司在过去一年中的大部分时间里不得不停止在美国销售其 Ring Air 产品。今年，Ultrahuman 凭借重新设计的 Ring Pro 重返美国市场。
Demand for the new device, Kumar said, is currently running at 18x to 20x the startup’s available supply in the U.S. Kumar told TechCrunch that the startup expects to return to its previous U.S. sales volumes as soon as next quarter and aims to triple those volumes over the following four quarters as it ramps up supply. The U.S. has accounted for about 45% of Ultrahuman’s revenue this quarter, while India contributes about 11%, Kumar said.
Kumar 表示，目前美国市场对这款新设备的需求量是公司现有供应量的 18 到 20 倍。他向 TechCrunch 透露，公司预计最快在下个季度就能恢复到之前的美国销售水平，并计划在随后的四个季度内随着供应量的增加，将销售额翻三倍。Kumar 指出，本季度美国市场贡献了 Ultrahuman 约 45% 的收入，而印度市场贡献了约 11%。
Ultrahuman plans to use some of the new capital to deepen its presence in markets, including India and the UAE, where it has found that physical stores and other offline touchpoints can help drive sales. However, that expansion, along with spending on clinical research and product development, has come at a cost. Ultrahuman, Kumar said, may not be profitable this year after investing more heavily in physical locations, its brand, and clinical studies.
Ultrahuman 计划利用部分新资金深化其在印度和阿联酋等市场的布局，因为公司发现实体店和其他线下接触点有助于推动销售。然而，这种扩张以及在临床研究和产品开发上的投入也带来了成本压力。Kumar 表示，由于在实体店、品牌建设和临床研究方面投入了更多资金，Ultrahuman 今年可能无法实现盈利。
Unlike rival Oura, which is reportedly eyeing a September IPO, a public listing is still some way off for Ultrahuman. Kumar told TechCrunch that the startup wants to demonstrate about eight quarters of profitability before going public, a track record he expects could take eight to 10 quarters to establish. However, he sees 2028 as the earliest window for an IPO. In the meantime, Ultrahuman is also looking to work more closely with Labcorp as it tries to push its rings deeper into health and diagnostics. The companies, Kumar said, are exploring whether the blood-flow signals captured by the ring, when paired with blood-test data, could help identify health risks in areas such as cardiovascular health, fertility, and more.
与据传正寻求 9 月 IPO 的竞争对手 Oura 不同，Ultrahuman 的上市之路尚需时日。Kumar 向 TechCrunch 表示，公司希望在上市前证明其拥有约八个季度的盈利能力，他预计建立这一业绩记录可能需要 8 到 10 个季度。不过，他认为 2028 年是 IPO 的最早窗口期。与此同时，Ultrahuman 也正寻求与 Labcorp 更紧密地合作，以推动其戒指在健康和诊断领域的深入应用。Kumar 表示，双方正在探索戒指捕获的血流信号与血液检测数据相结合，是否能帮助识别心血管健康、生育能力等领域的健康风险。