How CUDIS Plans to Change the Smart Ring Market? [CEO Interview]

The smart ring market continues to grow, with more companies exploring ways to combine health tracking, design, and everyday usability. CUDIS is one of the players exploring some new ideas with its upcoming Sporty Ring.

Luckily, our team had a chance to discuss the upcoming CUDIS Sporty Ring with the company’s CEO.
In this interview, Edison Chen, CEO of CUDIS, talks about the idea of the new smart ring, its features and release date, and shares his vision of the future of smart wearables.

It’s a pleasure to connect with you, and thank you for taking the time to speak with us.
The upcoming CUDIS Sporty Ring you are working on immediately caught our attention – could you tell us more about the idea behind it and what inspired its development?

The origination of CUDIS is a long story, which can be dated back to the cofounders’ college days at UCLA. But long story short, I have a background in Consumer Tech investment and brand management and I’m also very active in various sports.
In 2023 my partners and I started realizing that the smart ring space could be the next frontier because it naturally integrates a seamless yet stylish consumer tech product, general wellness lifestyle, and personal AI. Also, we realize some of the pain points in the existing product in the space, including subscription model, durability issue, uniform styles, limited functions, and low user stickiness. We decided to make a change by introducing CUDIS.

So what sets it apart in the increasingly competitive smart ring market?

Everything CUDIS does centers around one keyword – care.
We don’t just build another tracker, we build a product, a coach, an app that cares about how you feel, how you look, what you want, and how we can deliver that. Prevailing differences include:
– No Subscription. Ultra-comfortable wear and strong durability.
– The first customizable and interchangeable smart ring that suits your lifestyle and outfit.
– A point-based system that rewards you for consistency with your wellness habits.
– A wellness leaderboard that makes it more interesting to compare yourself with the rest of the world.
– A proprietary algorithm to make abstract ideas such as longevity tangible and accountable.
– We listen closely to our community, and the founding members are constantly showing up to the crowd.

One of the common concerns with smart rings over time is durability, especially when it comes to scratches. The addition of colorful silicone bands is a very interesting approach – where did this idea come from, and what were the challenges to realize it?

The idea came from seeing so many scratched rings. Since the rings track sleep and sports, we decided to give the design a sporty and active vibe. The main challenge is balancing the design and the comfort, as well as molding. We’ve tried multiple materials and conducted extensive testing to achieve this.

Beyond the interchangeable bands, what are the key differences between the Cudis Sporty Ring and your previous model, the CUDIS Ring 002?

The Sporty Series is still using a CUDIS 002 model, meaning the core sensors and tech specs are similar. Yet we will be introducing a lot of key updates in our app – a revamped, more proactive personal AI coach, recovery-related scores and algos, woman health management system, and more.

What is your current timeline for delivering the Cudis Sporty Ring to Kickstarter backers, and when can we expect an official release?

We’ve already started on production and we expect to deliver the product on time(June 2026). Official release after Kickstarter is to be determined.

We’re seeing rapid innovation in wearables – from smart rings to glasses, health-tracking earbuds, and even smart earrings. How do you see the future of smart wearables, and what role do you envision CUDIS playing in that future? (And could we expect more wearable gadgets from Cudis?)

We are seeing screenless wearables being a trend. In the future, we expect these products to be more subtle, integrated to daily life, more durable, and smarter (heavily integrated with AI). We try to lead this by introducing more care to the space and hopefully see more products adopting our approach.

We can’t wait to see how CUDIS Sporty will transform the smart rings market! Thank you, Edison, for taking the time to share your insights with us!