Will Ahmed is a chatty guy. We may have been more than 10,000 km apart during our video call, but it felt as if the Whoop CEO was in the room with me. He held his mobile phone up to the screen a few times to show me his health stats. As you’d expect from the founder of a luxury health tracker, he’s a fit guy.
When Will Ahmed launched Whoop more than ten years ago, his mission was to build a device that decoded the body rather than simply tracked movement. What began as a performance tool has evolved into a global wellness brand valued at around $3.6 billion, led by the Egyptian-American entrepreneur who turned data into a lifestyle.
Unlike typical wearables, Whoop established itself in the top tier of the market — favoured by elite athletes including Cristiano Ronaldo, Patrick Mahomes, Rory McIlroy, and Lewis Hamilton. Its appeal lies in quiet precision: a screenless band designed to offer deep physiological insight while symbolising longevity, discipline, and understated status.
The celebrity factor
Footballing superstar Cristiano Ronaldo loved his Whoop so much that he decided to invest in it. For Ahmed, that partnership is both a validation and a symbol of the brand’s authenticity. “Ronaldo wore a Whoop for two years before we ever spoke to him,” Ahmed recalls. “He fell in love with the product first, and that meant the relationship was natural.”
The tracker gives insights you’d never expect. Golfers may look calm on the 18th green, but Whoop data tells a different story. “Rory McIlroy once had a heart rate of 130 while lining up a three-foot putt,” Ahmed laughs. “They look composed, but inside, their bodies know the stakes.”
While Whoop’s roots are in sport, Ahmed always envisioned a wider reach. “The vision was to go from athletes, to fitness enthusiasts, to general consumers, to medical,” he explains. That expansion accelerated during Covid-19. When Whoop discovered it could predict infection through elevated respiratory rates, its appeal shifted overnight from elite recovery to general health.
Ahmed talked a lot about health span – not how long you live, but how well. The tracker now calculates a “Whoop age”, showing your physiological age versus your chronological one. To lower that number you need to focus on your VO₂ max – the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use.
Harnessing AI
Whoop was using AI long before ChatGPT became popular. Today, the company is experimenting with large language models that allow users to ask multiple questions about their health.
Whoop has partnered with US-based Quest Diagnostics to allow members to upload their results and feed that data directly into the Whoop ecosystem. “Imagine seeing your bloodwork alongside your daily recovery scores, then having AI explain how one affects the other,” Ahmed says. “That’s where we’re heading.”
What users like about wearing a Whoop is that it’s screenless so it doesn’t distract you with notifications. For celebrities, the appeal is obvious. For ordinary users, it offers access to the same tools as Ronaldo or Jay-Z. “I’m proud that Whoop has a positive status and symbol that comes with wearing it.” In Ahmed’s words: “It’s aspirational, but it’s also deeply personal.”
The company offers a sleep bonus: $100 a month for staff who hit 85% sleep performance. Group workouts are common. Challenges keep teams motivated. “It’s a group of people who care deeply about health,” Ahmed says.
That culture reinforces its mission to help people live better, longer. “Activity and exercise dramatically improve mood,” Ahmed adds. “For anyone feeling stuck, finding movement – whether it’s Jiu-Jitsu, running, or paddle tennis – is a massive unlock.”
The company faces competition, but Whoop’s edge lies in its data. “You know Whoop has collected an enormous amount of physiological data on the human body, and that’s something that we’ve been training on and learning from and growing from as a consequence. Pick the biggest AI companies in the world – they don’t have the same data set that we have when it comes to health. And so that’s a big advantage.”
Whoop is preparing to deepen its medical integration. “Technology moves fast,” he says. “You can never get too comfortable. We always want to feel like David versus Goliath.”
Ahmed is no stranger to the region. “I’ve spent a lot of time in the Middle East over the last 10 years. I love the region. It’s in my blood.”
Despite being a busy CEO, Ahmed even finds time to host his own podcast, with hundreds of episodes under his belt.