Ultrahuman to deploy biological-age model across UAE in Abu Dhabi partnership

Ultrahuman, a health tech startup known for its smart rings, has entered into a two-year partnership with the Abu Dhabi Public Health Center (ADPHC) to develop and validate a biological-age model. This model aims to estimate an individual's aging rate by combining clinical biomarkers with data from wearable devices, identifying factors such as sleep, activity, cardiovascular health, and metabolism that influence the aging process.

According to CEO Mohit Kumar, Ultrahuman increasingly views itself as a health-data company, with its smart ring serving as a data collection tool for algorithms focused on aging and longevity. The collaboration with a government entity allows Ultrahuman to apply its algorithms to a broader population than its existing customer base, which numbers around 800,000 smart rings sold globally. This initiative marks the startup's first step toward deploying a health algorithm at a national scale, with plans for the health age model to be accessible across the UAE.

While Ultrahuman is recognized for its smart rings, the biological-age model is being designed to be wearable-agnostic, accepting data from various devices like wristbands and patches, in addition to clinical biomarkers. Users will eventually be able to access their health age through UAE government digital-health platforms, including TAMM and Sahatna. The next two years will focus on research and clinical validation, with a phased rollout planned thereafter.

The UAE is already a significant market for Ultrahuman, accounting for 4% to 5% of its revenue and showing 25% higher customer retention compared to other markets. The company noted that its typical users are between 25 and 43 years old, and deploying the model across the UAE will expose it to a wider demographic range. The model's development is based on Ultrahuman's existing data, integrating users' chronological ages with wearable signals and blood-test markers to track health marker changes and deviations.

Kumar emphasized that the model will be deployed on UAE data but not trained on it, and Ultrahuman will not have access to personally identifiable information. This partnership occurs as Ultrahuman's competitor, Oura, also announced a similar collaboration with Abu Dhabi's Department of Health in May, focusing on women's health and cardiometabolic risk. Both companies are vying in the smart-ring market while expanding into preventive health.