Whoop, recruitment plan (+75%) to prepare for IPO and innovate in screenless fitness

Whoop is currently present in 60 countries and 60% of its sales come from international markets. This marks a relatively recent change for the company: only four years ago, the US made up about 70% of its member base.

Whoop, founded in 2012, currently employs around 800 full-time employees, having hired around 300 people in two years.

"We are investing quite consistently throughout the company," Ahmed said. "There is no area where we are not investing."

The planned hiring spree comes at a time when an increasing number of listed technology companies are downsizing their staff, in some cases citing artificial intelligence as an opportunity to streamline operations.

For example, Jack Dorsey's Block Inc. said last week that it will cut almost half of its workforce after investing heavily in artificial intelligence tools to work more efficiently.

Other companies have also made deep cuts in recent months.

Earlier this year, Amazon.com Inc. announced plans to cut 16,000 corporate jobs. Meta Platforms Inc. said it will eliminate more than 1,000 jobs from its Reality Labs division to redirect resources to AI wearable devices and phone capabilities.

Pinterest Inc. plans to cut "less than 15 per cent" of its workforce and will reduce office space, partly in an effort to shift resources to artificial intelligence. Autodesk Inc. also said it will cut about 1,000 positions.

"There are a lot of companies that are making redundancies right now and blaming it on artificial intelligence," Ahmed said about the recent job cuts in the technology sector. "But they are actually making layoffs because companies are not performing particularly well. And that's a convenient excuse."

Ahmed added that an aggressive recruitment drive is needed for Whoop to add an assortment of product features.

"There are many things we want to build," he said. "We think there are many things possible in monitoring and health care and in creating technologies that make our members healthier."

In November, Ahmed told Bloomberg that Whoop is probably well positioned for an Ipo 'within a two-year time horizon'.

He stated that these plans have not changed and that the company continues to experience 'considerable growth' in all areas of the business.

The IPO could consolidate Whoop's position as a leader in wearable devices and wellness, particularly in a growing sub-category of screen-less gadgets positioned as alternatives to smartwatches.

Oura Health Oy, for example, offers similar health monitoring functionality in a ring device, while Samsung Electronics Co. launched its own smart ring in 2024.

Many of the recent Whoop product upgrades aim to offer a more accurate indicator of users' baseline health'.

Its latest high-end model, Whoop MG - short for 'medical grade' - includes access to blood pressure monitoring, a electrocardiogram function, atrial fibrillation detection and irth irregular heartbeat notifications.

In July, the US Food and Drug Administration asked Whoop to remove its blood pressure monitoring function, claiming it did not have the proper certification to offer medical recommendations.

Whoop refused to deactivate the tool, while negotiating with the agency on a course of action.

Since then, the FDA has issued new guidelines that support the idea that blood pressure can be used in products marketed as wellness devices.

For sporting aspects, see the Gazzetta dello Sport (article by Luigi Ansalone)