Ultrahuman signs Abu Dhabi deal to build AI 'health age' model for UAE residents

Ultrahuman, the Bengaluru-based maker of smart rings, has signed a two-year memorandum of understanding with the Abu Dhabi Public Health Center (ADPHC) to develop and validate an artificial intelligence model that estimates a person's biological age, the company said on Monday, October 12, 2026. The model combines clinical biomarkers, such as blood-test results, with data from wearable devices to judge how quickly someone is ageing and which habits, including sleep, physical activity, heart health and metabolism, may be speeding it up or slowing it down. The aim is eventually to make this "health age" available to people across the United Arab Emirates through government digital-health platforms, though no date has been given.

Biological age is the idea that two people born in the same year can age at very different speeds depending on their bodies and habits. Wearables collect huge amounts of data on sleep, heart rate and movement, but turning that data into a single, meaningful measure that a doctor or a health ministry can trust is difficult. By putting its model through clinical validation with a public health body, Ultrahuman is trying to move from consumer gadget to tool for preventive public health.

For India's AI ecosystem, the deal is a sign of an Indian start-up selling an AI health algorithm to a foreign government. CEO Mohit Kumar said this is the company's first step towards running a health algorithm at a national scale. Building a model that works with other companies' devices widens its possible use: a health system does not want to require every citizen to buy one brand of ring.

Privacy is central. Kumar said the model was built on Ultrahuman's existing data, which combines users' actual ages with their wearable readings and, for some users, blood-test markers, and that it will not be trained on data from the UAE. "We will deploy an algorithm on the UAE data," he said, adding that the company will not have access to personally identifiable information through the programme. How that promise is put into practice will matter to residents whose health data is involved.

The director general of the ADPHC, Dr Rashed Obaid Alsuwaidi, described the partnership as an important step for preventive public healthcare. Some smaller outlets have described the model as already launched or validated; the main reports say it is still being developed and tested.

Short-term: Ultrahuman and the ADPHC will begin research and clinical validation. Nothing changes yet for UAE residents, who will have to wait for the model to be tested before it appears on government apps.

Long-term: If validated, the model could let a government track population health trends and encourage people to change habits before disease sets in. Success in the UAE could also open doors for Ultrahuman with other health systems, including possibly in India.

Who is affected: UAE residents and health authorities, Ultrahuman and other wearable makers, and Indian AI and health-tech companies looking to sell to governments abroad.

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