In addition to monitoring health, what other functions can a smart ring offer? Making payments? Absolutely.
Muse Wearables, a startup based in Bengaluru, recently revealed that they have partnered with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to introduce what the company calls India's initial wearable payment system.
The so-called ecosystem is driven by Muse Wallet and NPCI's RuPay network. In essence, users of Muse Wearables' smart ring, called Ring One, can perform secure payments by tapping the device on any NFC-enabled point-of-sale terminal.
The startup states that the service is already accessible in over 40 countries and works with cards from almost 600 banks, and currently, the Wallet is being introduced in India through RuPay.
"Muse is not competing within the mobile ecosystem; we are creating what's coming next. While most payment platforms concentrate on apps and smartphones, we are leading the development of the next era of personal computing, where technology transitions from the phone to the human body," says KLN Sai Prasanth, CEO and co-founder at Muse Wearables, to Healthy Urvivaldia.
Origins
Muse Wearables was established in 2016 by Prasanth and Yathindra Ajay KA, who are IIT Madras alumni, and K Prathyusha, an NIT Warangal graduate, in collaboration with the IIT Madras Incubation Cell.
At first, the company developed hybrid smartwatches. In 2017, its 'Muse Hybrid SmartWatch' underwent Proof Of Concept, Design ideations, Design Validation and Iterations, and secured funding through an angel round to bring the product to market.
A year later, the company initiated a crowdfunding effort on Kickstarter and within a month attracted the interest of approximately 700 supporters from over 60 countries around the globe. In 2019, it began shipping products to those who had supported the crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter and Indiegogo, while also launching the MusePay service in more than 27 countries.
Our trip started with smartwatches, as they were the obvious starting point for entering consumer technology and health monitoring. While working on wrist-based sensing, we found that the ring shape provides better signal quality for measuring vital signs such as heart rate and blood pressure — being nearer to the arteries and less affected by movement noise," the co-founder stated.
Prasanth mentions that Muse Wearables emerged due to a noticeable void, as India lacked a deep-tech consumer electronics company creating top-tier products capable of competing on a global scale.
"For many years, most innovations originated outside India, with our involvement restricted to software or assembly. We aimed to shift this, creating a genuine Indian company that spearheads the next era of personal technology, from design to production," he stated.
His group concentrated on developing tools that minimize everyday hassles and enhance human capabilities, technology that operates discreetly in the background and makes life easier.
He pointed out that the Ring One also offers cuffless blood pressure measurement along with essential smart health functions like heart rate, HRV, SpO₂, temperature, workout tracking, meditation, and sleep monitoring.
Muse Wallet: The Hidden Ingredient
Even though the Ring One is the hardware, the central part of the payment system is the Muse Wallet, which the company claims is India's first secure element tokenization platform capable of tokenizing debit, credit, and prepaid cards.
How it works:
Users add their RuPay card in the Muse App — either by scanning or entering it manually.
Muse Wallet connects to the Rupay card network and the issuing bank to create a specific token for the card.
The token is safely sent to the Secure Element within Ring One, where it gets encrypted and kept stored.
When the ring is touched against an NFC terminal, the Secure Element processes the transaction without revealing the real card number.
This level of hardware separation positions Muse Wallet as a pioneering standard for security in wearable devices across India.
Muse explains that the payments function only works when the ring is being worn, and taking it off immediately stops all transactions. If the ring is lost or stolen, the token remains inactive and ineffective without the verified context.
Under the hood
Prasanth points out that the complete tokenization and distribution system is developed from scratch, adhering to PCI DSS and EMVCo international security requirements, and is fully connected with various global card networks.
This essentially allows any Muse wearable device to quickly transform a physical card into a secure digital token that is stored directly within a tamper-resistant Secure Element (SE) chip.
At the hardware level, the company has developed a unique NFC antenna design that allows for wireless charging and contactless payments within a ring, marking a groundbreaking engineering accomplishment.
It has also created biometric sensing algorithms for in-body authentication and a unique encryption system for managing dynamic keys. This enhanced security guarantees that only the user can use their ring to make payments.
Business strategy and competition
Will smart rings eventually take the place of popular UPI-based applications such as Google Pay or Paytm?
The founder of Muse clearly states that their product or service is not aimed at the mobile environment, but rather seeks to develop what would be the subsequent natural advancement. He mentions that most payment platforms concentrate on applications and smartphones.
When asked about the competition with companies like Apple and Samsung, which also boast extensive ranges of wearable technology and services, Prasanth points out that these two major tech companies have their own constraints.
"Global companies such as Apple and Samsung utilize Secure Element (SE) tokenization, but their payment systems are still confined to their own device types. Apple does not support payments via a smart ring, and Samsung has not yet developed the technology required for secure, hardware-level ring payments. Muse is launching a new device design that people appreciate, while expanding into markets and categories where Apple and Samsung are not fully present," he says to Healthy urvivaldia.
Likewise, he mentioned that local fintech companies are mobile-focused, while Muse is leveraging wearable technology.
The founder of Muse is also certain that emerging form factors like smart rings could help banks revive their card-related income. It's important to mention that a significant portion of this revenue has been lost due to the widespread use of UPI. This is where Muse identifies a potential opportunity, as it has already partnered with SBI and Axis Bank, and aims to bring on board up to 20 additional financial institutions within the next year. Although tokenization is currently offered to banking partners at no cost, the company is exploring a paid model once it increases its volume.
Currently, the company's main source of income is through a B2C model, primarily selling the smart ring. However, the long-term strategy involves shifting to a B2B revenue model based on performance, once the ecosystem grows and achieves greater scale. The goal is to reach USD 100 million in annual recurring revenue within the next 18 to 24 months.
As noted earlier, the company functions on a global scale, aiming to further penetrate the markets in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific area.
The intelligent ring is now available for purchase at USD 349 (approximately INR 30,700). The company plans to reveal the pricing in India during January of the following year.
Smart Rings in India, UPI, and other topics
Currently, smart rings appear more like a curiosity than a must-have item. However, we have witnessed numerous brands, products, and services evolve from being novelties into tools used by regular individuals. At the same time, certain ideas have failed to gain traction.
In terms of design variations, companies have attempted to introduce innovative ideas. In the past, brands explored 3D phones, projectors, and modular devices. Although Ray-Ban Meta Glasses are currently popular, Google struggled with its Google Glass over ten years ago. Nevertheless, newer innovations like foldable phones and smartwatches have gained widespread acceptance.
Although Muse is currently concentrating on card-based networks, India's most popular payment method, UPI, is beginning to embrace emerging technologies.
Recently, a new pilot initiative launched by Razorpay, NPCI, and OpenAI, with support from banking partners Axis Bank and Airtel Payments Bank, enables users to place orders on BigBasket through ChatGPT using a natural, conversational approach.
Additionally, UPI is expanding to support integration with Internet of Things devices, including connected cars and smartwatches. Smart rings appear to be a viable addition to this range.
Muse's goals are impressive, and it's definitely beneficial to see another Indian deep-tech company venture into international markets. Similar efforts have been made by companies like Ultrahuman in this area.
To provide some context, the medical smart rings market in India is expected to generate a revenue of USD 74.3 million by 2030, as stated in a report from GrandView Horizon.
Nevertheless, smart rings are certainly set to challenge the traditional methods of digital transactions, such as UPI. The sector will need to develop into a form that guarantees convenience, safety, and reliability. The market is waiting for the outcome.