01
Oura sues Ultrahuman again to block Ring Pro from the US market
News Source: Engadget
Oura has filed a new patent-infringement suit against Ultrahuman in a Texas federal court, targeting the Ring Pro. Oura says the ring violates two patents covering design and internal components, including one granted just two days before the filing. It is seeking damages and an order blocking US sales. Ultrahuman's earlier Ring Air was banned from the US after an ITC ruling; the company redesigned the Ring Pro and received US Customs clearance earlier this year.
Our read: This is a patent fight, not a product recall: the Ring Pro remains on sale in the US for now, and Ultrahuman has argued its redesign no longer infringes Oura's patents. Buyers should watch the docket rather than assume another ban. The more interesting signal is how aggressively Oura is defending the ring form factor as smart-ring competition heats up.
02
Nirva raises $25M for an AI pendant that listens only to its wearer
Funding Source: The AI Insider
Nirva, founded in 2025 by former Meta Reality Labs employees Wei Lyu and Jason Chen along with fashion entrepreneur Hanying Hu, has raised a $25 million pre-Series A, bringing total funding to $33 million after an earlier $8 million. Its first device is an eight-gram pendant that can also be worn as a bracelet, with up to three days of battery life. Nirva says it is always on but listens only to its wearer: a voice model built during onboarding filters out other people's speech, and by default the device keeps no audio or transcripts after processing. Orders open in November at $249.
Our read: Nirva's pitch is a direct answer to the privacy objection that followed Limitless and other always-on recorders: capture only the wearer, keep no audio, and turn the result into emotional and communication insights. If the filtering works outside a demo, that is a real differentiator; but the claim needs independent testing, and inferring tone and emotional patterns raises its own privacy questions. The funding also shows investors still believe in ambient AI wearables even after Meta absorbed Limitless and shut its hardware line.
