Smart ring maker and health tracking company Oura plans to acquire AI virtual primary care company and business partner Counsel Health for $625 million, the health tech companies announced Tuesday.
The all-cash deal is expected to close before the end of this year, pending customary closing conditions. Bringing Counsel’s platform and capabilities in-house will allow more Oura members to bring their biometric data into a virtual, in-app care encounter, the companies said in their announcement.
“Oura helps members understand their physiology and, with Counsel, they can take action on their health across a range of needs, from quick questions and prescriptions to lab results, chronic care, and referrals,” Tom Hale, CEO of Oura, said. “Together, we can create a new model of care that extends the current healthcare paradigm by delivering an experience that’s more immediate, personalized, and proactive. This is a massive step in our mission to empower people to live healthier, longer, by delivering on the promise of a 24-7 doctor in your pocket.”
Counsel’s model uses text-based, records-informed medical AI encounters to help field and triage users, providing a path to telehealth encounters with the company’s in-house physicians, who are also supported on the backend by a proprietary “Clinician Cockpit” that surfaces relevant clinical data for the encounter. The two-year-old company boasts enterprise partnerships with health plans, provider organizations, employers and other consumer health organizations, for whom it says its approach can reduce costs and improve access to timely care.
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