Whoop Plans to Grow Its Boston Home Before Going Public

Whoop, a Boston company that makes wearable fitness trackers, is planning to nearly double the size of its main office. The company's CEO, Will Ahmed, said this week that Whoop will lease 107,000 square feet of new office space right next to its current headquarters in Kenmore Square. He also said the company expects to sell shares to the public for the first time in about 18 months.

Ahmed spoke with Bloomberg, a financial news company, earlier this week. He explained that the new space could fit up to 1,000 employees. This is a big deal for Whoop, which already has about 800 workers and announced plans earlier this year to hire 600 more people in 2026. Bloomberg also reported that Whoop has already hired close to 400 new workers this year, and more than 70 percent of those jobs are based in Boston.

Whoop opened its current headquarters in Kenmore Square three years ago. That building is 121,000 square feet, which is already quite large. Now, with the new space added next door, the company will have even more room to grow. Whoop has been getting bigger and more valuable since it started in 2012, and it is now worth an estimated $10.1 billion.

The company raised $575 million in its most recent funding round. Some of its newest investors include the Qatar Investment Authority and a firm called Macquarie Capital. Ahmed told Bloomberg that Whoop's Boston employees are expected to come into the office four days a week. This shows that the company wants its team to work together in person most of the time.

Whoop's office building has a large sign in Kenmore Square that spells out the company's name in big white letters. For years, that sign blocked a famous local landmark called the CITGO sign. Construction crews have now torn down the old CITGO sign and are rebuilding it 30 feet higher than before. The work is expected to be finished by mid-November.

Whoop is not the only company growing in the Kenmore Square area. A Boston biotech company called AI Proteins recently leased 40,000 square feet of office space at 660 Beacon Street. That building is part of a large redevelopment project that is turning old Boston University buildings into modern offices. A developer named Alex Provost said the project is meant to inspire innovation and help science and technology companies grow across Boston.