What did Will Ahmed say about the FDA warning letter over WHOOP's blood pressure feature?

Will Ahmed said WHOOP built its wrist-based blood pressure algorithm partly from a member study in which 70,000 people enrolled and uploaded daily cuff readings. The FDA had treated any blood pressure measurement as a medical device, while WHOOP argued it had a clear wellness use tied to stress and sleep. After launch the FDA sent a warning letter and the disagreement played out publicly. Ahmed says WHOOP held its position, the FDA later updated its guidelines to allow wellness uses, and blood pressure insights remain available.

• Ahmed explained the FDA line with heart rate: exercise and sleep tracking count as wellness, AFib detection or heart attack prediction needs regulation.
• WHOOP's ECG feature is FDA cleared through the 510(k) process.
• Ahmed said he is happy with the company's current relationship with the FDA.

▸In their words

“They actually sent us a warning letter.” Will Ahmed · at 40:00 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg (2026-10-29). Read the whole episode summary →

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