Qualcomm backs Ultrahuman's $70M round to build smarter rings

Ultrahuman, an Indian smart ring maker, has raised $70 million in a new round that includes Qualcomm’s venture arm, valuing the Bengaluru-based startup at $365 million — about 3x its $120 million valuation in 2023. The round comprises $65 million in primary equity and $5 million in debt, with participation from Qualcomm Ventures, U.S. diagnostics giant Labcorp, Alpha Wave, Blume Ventures, Nexus Venture Partners, and Alteria Capital, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Ultrahuman is also working with Qualcomm on a new ring built around Qualcomm’s silicon, adding more on-device computing power so more software and algorithms can run directly on the ring instead of relying on a phone or the cloud. Founder and CEO Mohit Kumar said the goal is to move beyond tracking heart rate, movement, and sleep and make the ring “more like a computer” — one that could work as a pointer, a game controller, a car key, or an interface for interacting with AI, with the added ability to read physiological signals like heart rate and temperature. Some of those capabilities, including game-controller and AI-interaction functions, are due to arrive via software update on Ultrahuman’s existing Ring Air and Ring Pro by the end of September, ahead of the Qualcomm-powered ring.

Ultrahuman’s core business is also growing: the company’s annual revenue run rate stands at $140 million, up roughly 45% from a year earlier, and Kumar expects that to reach $200 million by January 2027. Ultrahuman has sold around 800,000 rings to date, up from about 700,000 in February. The U.S., its largest market, had been without the Ring Air for much of the past year amid a patent dispute with rival Oura; the startup returned with a redesigned Ring Pro this year and expects to regain its previous U.S. sales volumes as soon as next quarter.

Some of the new funding will go toward deepening Ultrahuman’s presence in markets including India and the UAE, along with clinical research and product development — spending Kumar said may keep the company from being profitable this year. Kumar wants to show around eight quarters of profitability, which he expects could take eight to 10 quarters to establish, before considering an IPO, putting 2028 as the earliest possible window.

Why it matters

Qualcomm’s bet suggests the smart ring is becoming a computing platform in its own right, not just a health tracker — a shift that could reshape how wearables compete for developer attention and enterprise interest in AI-native hardware.