Abu dhabi: WHOOP, the human performance company, and Mubadala Investment Company have announced a strategic partnership to advance proactive health, performance science, and preventative healthcare innovation in the UAE, anchored by Mubadala's $75 million investment in WHOOP.
According to Emirates News Agency, the partnership reflects a shared commitment to strengthening health innovation, expanding research capabilities, and supporting the development of advanced healthcare ecosystems in Abu Dhabi.
The collaboration was announced during the Make it in the Emirates (MIITE) Forum 2026 and aims to bolster the UAE's health ecosystem through local capability building, advanced research, and the development of next-generation health technologies. It aligns with the UAE's broader national agenda to build knowledge-driven industries, attract global innovation, and position Abu Dhabi as a destination for international companies to establish regional operations, contribute to local expertise, and support the growth of future-focused sectors like life sciences and advanced healthcare.
The partnership is part of Mubadala's strategy to expand life sciences and healthcare into proactive, data-enabled health systems. By integrating performance science, longitudinal research, biomarker testing, and localized digital health access, the collaboration aims to strengthen the UAE's healthcare value chain-from diagnostics and genomics to prevention, behavioral optimization, and population-scale resilience.
As part of the partnership, WHOOP will establish a dedicated office in the UAE, expand its Advanced Labs offering, introduce full Arabic localization across its digital platform, and launch the WHOOP-Mubadala Health Research Initiative. This initiative will support structured collaboration with leading UAE institutions to conduct longitudinal studies in cardiovascular health, sleep science, recovery, and behavioral performance, thereby strengthening advanced research capabilities and supporting breakthrough discoveries in performance science within the UAE.
The expansion of WHOOP Advanced Labs in the UAE will also make the country the first international market to replicate the full U.S. biomarker experience, enabling data-driven preventative health models at scale and strengthening precision diagnostics capabilities within the national ecosystem. This partnership underscores the UAE's significance to WHOOP's long-term global growth strategy, with the UAE and broader Gulf Cooperation Council emerging as high-growth markets for performance and preventative health technologies.
Will Ahmed, Founder and CEO of WHOOP, highlighted the company's journey in the UAE, which began in 2017 with a partnership with Expo 2020 Dubai to support worker wellness at scale. Ali Eid AlMheiri, Executive Director, Diversified Assets, UAE Investments Platform at Mubadala, emphasized the importance of attracting leading global companies to Abu Dhabi to build future-focused sectors and strengthen the UAE's economic competitiveness.
The announcement at MIITE highlights the intersection of industrial development and health innovation within the UAE's economic agenda, contributing to building intellectual capital, advancing research infrastructure, and creating specialized capabilities that support long-term productivity and societal well-being. WHOOP's ongoing presence in the UAE builds on its initial support of Expo 2020 Dubai's Worker Wellness Program, establishing a research-led platform that embeds performance science within the UAE's broader health, innovation, and economic development priorities.