US wearable health technology company WHOOP has announced that its membership across the Gulf region grew 85 percent over the past year, and has multiplied fifteenfold over the past three years. The growth was revealed alongside news of a deepening clinical research partnership with institutions in Abu Dhabi.
The WHOOP device, worn on the wrist, tracks physiological signals including heart rate, blood pressure, ECG readings and sleep patterns. Founded in Boston in 2012, the company now runs a joint research programme called the WHOOP-Mubadala Health Research Initiative with leading UAE institutions, covering longitudinal studies on cardiovascular health, sleep science and physical recovery.
As part of the partnership, Abu Dhabi investor Mubadala committed $75 million in May, while 2PointZero Group also participated in WHOOP's Series G funding round. The Department of Health - Abu Dhabi is involved as a research partner in the programme.
WHOOP CEO Will Ahmed said the company has raised close to $1 billion in total funding and is "building toward becoming a successful standalone business" — a remark some have read as a hint toward a possible future public listing. The company's latest Series G round raised $575 million at a valuation of $10.1 billion.
The sharp rise in demand for wearable health devices across the Gulf reflects growing interest among residents, particularly in the UAE, in tracking personal health metrics closely and using biometric data to guide lifestyle decisions.