By Titik Puspa 
Bengaluru-based health-tech innovator Ultrahuman is making a determined resurgence into the lucrative U.S. market, aiming to reclaim its position following a significant legal setback and to challenge the entrenched dominance of rival Oura. The company announced it has secured crucial approval for its latest device, the Ring Pro, from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. This development arrives less than a month after the Ring Pro’s global debut in late February and directly follows an October ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) that had previously obstructed the import of Ultrahuman’s smart rings into the United States.
The ITC decision, which largely favored Oura, had a substantial financial impact on Ultrahuman, costing the company an estimated $50 million in lost sales. This was primarily due to the temporary inability to import its popular Ring Air model into the U.S., as stated by Ultrahuman CEO Mohit Kumar in an exclusive interview. This legal and logistical hurdle significantly disrupted Ultrahuman’s growth trajectory in what is undeniably the most critical market for smart ring technology.
The U.S. market’s preeminence in the smart ring sector cannot be overstated. According to data shared by IDC with TechCrunch, approximately 2.6 million smart ring units were sold in the U.S. in 2025, representing a formidable 60% of the global total of 4.4 million units. Furthermore, the U.S. market demonstrated robust growth, expanding by an impressive 59% year-over-year. This dynamic landscape has witnessed a rapid consolidation, with Oura significantly strengthening its market leadership in recent quarters. Concurrently, Ultrahuman’s market share experienced a sharp decline during the period of import restrictions, a testament to Oura’s ability to capitalize on its rival’s temporary absence.
Delving deeper into market share dynamics, IDC research manager Jitesh Ubrani revealed that Ultrahuman’s U.S. market share saw a dramatic increase from 11.5% in 2024 to a commanding 24.6% by the second quarter of 2025. However, as the import restrictions took effect towards the end of that year, this share plummeted to single digits. In stark contrast, Oura adeptly leveraged this situation, expanding its own market share from 63.3% to an overwhelming 85% over the same period, effectively absorbing the majority of the ground lost by Ultrahuman.
The U.S. market was once a cornerstone of Ultrahuman’s revenue, accounting for as much as 50% of its total income at its zenith. While this share has naturally diminished following the import restrictions and the company’s strategic expansion into Europe and Asia during that period, Kumar remains optimistic. He downplayed the long-term competitive impact of their U.S. hiatus, characterizing it as a mere "three-month advantage" for rivals and expressing confidence in Ultrahuman’s ability to rapidly regain lost market share.
To facilitate its comeback, Ultrahuman is set to immediately ramp up its U.S. operations. Kumar estimates that achieving full operational scale could take approximately five to six months, a timeline dictated by the necessary efforts to rebuild its supply chain and distribution networks. The company is already accepting U.S. pre-orders for the Ring Pro, with shipments slated to commence on May 15th. The device is priced at $399, with an attractive early bird offer of $349 for the first 1,000 customers.
The redesigned Ring Pro, featuring a unibody metal structure, is credited with helping the company secure U.S. clearance and is positioned as the central pillar of its ambitious comeback strategy. Key improvements in the Ring Pro include enhanced battery life and more sophisticated on-device processing capabilities, addressing user demands for superior performance and longevity. Kumar indicated that the Ring Pro was already in development as part of a broader product upgrade, but its design also strategically aimed to mitigate the patent dispute that led to the import restrictions. "We believe the Ring Air is a non-infringing model, and we are fighting that in federal court in the U.S.," he stated, emphasizing that the new Ring Pro design was intended to provide a more definitive resolution to the intellectual property challenges.
The battle for market dominance in the smart ring space is far from confined to the U.S. In a significant development, rival Oura has entered Ultrahuman’s home turf, India, with the launch of its Ring 4 last week. This strategic move by Oura sets the stage for a broader and more intense rivalry across key global markets, transforming India into the next significant battleground for these health-tech giants.
Despite the emergence of new competitors in its home market, Kumar remains sanguine about Ultrahuman’s prospects in India. The company is steadfastly focused on its long-term growth strategy within the country, viewing increased competition not as a threat but as an opportunity to elevate overall market awareness in what is still a nascent category in India.
The smart ring market in India presented a mixed picture in 2025. According to a recent IDC report, smart ring shipments declined by 30.6% year-over-year. However, within this challenging environment, Ultrahuman emerged as the market leader, securing a substantial 30.4% market share, followed by Gabit with 18.3%. The report also highlighted a significant drop in average selling prices, which fell by 8.7% to $160, indicating both escalating competition and considerable pricing pressure within the Indian market.
Looking ahead, Ubrani of IDC anticipates that the global smart ring market, including the U.S., will continue its double-digit growth trajectory. However, he projects that growth in India will likely remain more subdued. Oura’s strong international brand recognition could prove to be a significant advantage in gaining traction in India, particularly as many early local competitors, which often focused on repackaged hardware with limited differentiation, have scaled back their efforts or faded from the scene. This vacuum presents an opportunity for established global players like Oura to establish a strong foothold.
The strategic importance of the U.S. market to Ultrahuman is underscored by the fact that it currently accounts for approximately 45% of the company’s roughly 700,000 daily active users globally. Furthermore, the U.S. user base exhibits a distinct demographic skew, with women constituting about 73-74% of users, a notable increase from roughly 68% globally and up from approximately 65% a year prior. This highlights a growing female demographic’s engagement with Ultrahuman’s offerings in the U.S.
Beyond its immediate focus on smart rings, Ultrahuman is also signaling its ambition to diversify its product portfolio. Kumar hinted at ongoing development of a new wearable device that will concentrate on a different biomarker. This strategic move indicates Ultrahuman’s commitment to expanding its ecosystem and addressing a broader spectrum of health and wellness metrics. Currently, Ultrahuman’s smart rings meticulously track a comprehensive range of biomarkers, including heart rate, heart rate variability, skin temperature, sleep stages, movement patterns, and blood oxygen levels, providing users with deep insights into their physiological well-being.
The company’s participation in the upcoming TechCrunch event in San Francisco, scheduled for October 13-15, 2026, further underscores its renewed focus on the U.S. market and its commitment to engaging with the broader tech and investment community. This event provides a crucial platform for Ultrahuman to showcase its latest innovations, network with industry leaders, and solidify its position as a formidable player in the global health-tech landscape. The company’s resilience in overcoming legal challenges and its strategic re-entry into the U.S. market, coupled with its expansion into new territories and product categories, paints a picture of a determined innovator poised for significant future growth.