Whoop, a US developer of wearable fitness trackers which was recently valued at $3.6 billion (€3.09 billion), is to create more than 50 jobs in Dublin with the opening of a new office.
Speaking to The Irish Times, co-founder and chief executive Will Ahmed said there is a potential that many more roles may be created locally as the company looks to expand in Europe.
“We’re going to keep growing fast. I think the 50 jobs announced now will be just for the next 12 months but we’ll continue from there,” he said.
Whoop, which in August raised a further $200 million in a Series F funding round led by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, has been growing fast. At the start of 2020, the Boston-based headquartered company employed 100 people. It now has about 600 staff globally.
Whoop, which has raised more than $400 million to date, expects much of its future growth to come from outside of North America.
“In 2019, the international market represented about 5 per cent of revenues but today it is closer to 30 per cent. I think over time it could come to represent 50 per cent or more of revenue, so we are excited about what the future holds,” Mr Ahmed said.
Founded in 2011, Whoop has developed popular fitness trackers that are marketed towards professional athletes, unlike Fitbit, which is aimed at a more general audience. Its backers include a number of professional sports stars, including Irish golfer Rory Mcllroy.
Mr Ahmed said Dublin was one of a number of locations considered for its new European headquarters.
“We looked at a number of cities and came to feel that Dublin is the one that has the best access to tech talent and will therefore enable us to grow quickly internationally,” he said.
Briain Curtin, who formerly served as marketing director for Fitbit in Europe, and as head of growth at Revolut, is one of seven people already recruited by Whoop in Dublin.
Whoop's expansion is supported by the Government through IDA Ireland. Its chief executive, Martin Shanahan, described the move as a "strong endorsement" of the State's workforce and pro-business environment.
