ŌURA is a company that helps people track all stages of sleep and activity using the ŌURA Ring and connected app. By providing daily feedback and practical steps to inspire healthy lifestyles, ŌURA helped hundreds of thousands of people improve their sleep, understand their bodies, and transform their health. Pulse 2.0 interviewed ŌURA Chief Design Officer Miklu Silvanto to learn more about the company.
Miklu Silvanto’s Background
What is Miklu Silvanto’s background? Silvanto said:
“I’m a designer and entrepreneur who grew up at the intersection of arts, computing, and health. Before starting at ŌURA, I worked on new ventures in smart nutrition and radically ecological furniture, Elo Health and Vaarnii. Before that, I was Chief Design Officer for Bang & Olufsen, and spent nearly a decade on Apple’s Industrial Design team, working on many generations of game-changing products. I’ve always been interested in building models between humans and technology, which is why I absolutely love to work at ŌURA.”
Joining ŌURA
What brought you to and intrigued you about ŌURA? Silvanto shared:
“I’ve always been intrigued by wearable technologies and their potential to connect with personal health. I encountered the first ŌURA Ring prototype in 2014 and was captivated by its technology and the potential for its capabilities to evolve. Additionally, both of my parents are doctors, and I grew up curious and skeptical of a system where the goal isn’t optimizing for health but rather treating illness after it’s progressed. My passion for building meaningful interactions between humans and technology, along with my personal mission to help humans have agency for their own health, made ŌURA the perfect fit for me.”
Product Highlights
What are the company’s products that you wanted to highlight? Silvanto noted:
“One of ŌURA Ring’s most recent features and a personal favorite of mine is Cardiovascular Age. This feature helps members understand their estimated cardiovascular age relative to their chronological age and identify behaviors to improve their health span. It’s the most motivating health metric I’ve ever experienced—something measured in years that you can impact in weeks with better habits.”
“ŌURA helps connect the dots between what you do today and how it might impact your health in the future.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates ŌURA from its competition? Silvanto affirmed:
“ŌURA pioneered the smart ring form factor over a decade ago, recognizing early on that the finger is the best place on the body to gather the strongest signals and most accurate data. The company’s commitment to science-backed accuracy is unparalleled, with hundreds of millions of dollars invested in R&D, design, and manufacturing.”
“Sensing capability and validation are some of our biggest differentiators. While not a medical device, the ŌURA Ring’s capabilities have been validated against advanced medical technologies. But most important for me is how ŌURA approaches health holistically, and there is a sense of compassion and balance. That sensibility comes from the company’s Finnish roots, and having grown up in Finland I have a deep understanding of these values.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of your future company goals? Silvanto pointed out:
“We believe we can and are changing lives for the better and giving our members the agency to make health a daily practice and take a proactive approach rather than a reactive one to their health. This boils down to being able to live better, for longer. We have an obsession with wearability and sensing capability that translates to a really big impact.”
Design Experiences
How will your design experience contribute to ŌURA? Silvanto concluded:
“My focus on continuous learning and radically cross-functional innovation will bring a fresh perspective to ŌURA and contribute to the company’s vision. I spend my days collaborating with scientists, technologists, artists and business executives to break the boundaries of what is possible. We are truly transforming the industry.”
