Qualcomm Ventures has invested $70 million in Ultrahuman, the Indian smart ring maker, as the chipmaker bets on wearable devices powered by on-device AI to become the next frontier of personal computing. The round values Bengaluru-based Ultrahuman at $365 million, roughly triple its $120 million valuation in 2023, according to TechCrunch.
The funding round, which includes $65 million in primary equity and $5 million in debt, was led by Qualcomm Ventures alongside diagnostics giant Labcorp, Alpha Wave, Blume Ventures, Nexus Venture Partners, and Alteria Capital. Ultrahuman founder and CEO Mohit Kumar told TechCrunch that the company is working with Qualcomm on a new ring that will use the chipmaker’s silicon, allowing more software and algorithms to run directly on the device itself.
Ultrahuman currently uses chips from Nordic Semiconductor in its existing rings and plans to continue using them alongside Qualcomm’s technology. The added computing power from Qualcomm’s processors will reduce the ring’s reliance on a phone or cloud connection, enabling new capabilities beyond health tracking.
Kumar described the vision as transforming rings from simple trackers into computers. “All ring devices today are like trackers,” he said. “You put on the ring, it measures your heart rate, your movement, your sleep.” Ultrahuman’s goal is to make the ring more like a computer, where programs and algorithms can run on the device itself.
This shift opens new use cases well beyond health monitoring. Developers could eventually write their own programs for the device, while Ultrahuman is exploring ways for the ring to function as a pointer or mouse, a game controller, a car key, and an interface for interacting with AI. Some of these capabilities will arrive on Ultrahuman’s existing Ring Air and Ring Pro through a software update by the end of September, including features that let the ring work as a game controller and interact with AI applications.
Quinn Li, global head of Qualcomm Ventures, stated that “the future of AI is personal, ambient, and always on,” positioning Ultrahuman as a builder of “personal AI devices.”
Business Momentum and Market Expansion
Ultrahuman’s existing business is growing rapidly. The company 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, according to Kumar. About 12% of its users also pay for PowerPlugs, Ultrahuman’s subscription-based software features.
The U.S. remains Ultrahuman’s largest market, accounting for about 45% of revenue this quarter. After returning to the U.S. market with its redesigned Ring Pro following a patent dispute with rival Oura, demand is running at 18x to 20x Ultrahuman’s available supply. Kumar said 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 smart ring market itself is experiencing significant growth. The global smart rings market was estimated at $697.6 million in 2025 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 25.4% between 2026 and 2035, according to GM Insights. This rapid expansion reflects growing consumer interest in compact wearable devices that can monitor health while enabling new forms of interaction with AI and other applications.
Ultrahuman plans to use some of the new capital to deepen its presence in markets including India and the UAE, where physical stores and offline touchpoints have proven effective in driving sales. The company is also investing in clinical research and product development. Kumar said Ultrahuman may not be profitable this year after investing more heavily in physical locations, its brand, and clinical studies, but the startup is targeting profitability before pursuing a public listing.
The company is also exploring a deeper partnership with Labcorp. The two are investigating whether the blood-flow signals captured by Ultrahuman’s ring, when paired with blood-test data, could help identify health risks in areas such as cardiovascular health, fertility, and aging. Megann Vaughn Watters, vice president and head of Labcorp Venture Fund and Strategic Alliances, stated that “by combining longitudinal wearable data with deeper biological signals, Ultrahuman is creating new opportunities in personalized health.”
Sources
- TechCrunch — Qualcomm Ventures-led $70 million funding round, valuation at $365 million, revenue run rate and business details from CEO Mohit Kumar
- GM Insights — Smart rings market valuation and growth projections (25.4% CAGR 2026-2035)
- Yahoo Finance — Ultrahuman’s revenue targets and Qualcomm investment details
