\Sponsored by Purina Accelerator Lab 

In-depth

Why community makes a difference to pet tech startups

Pet tech is on the rise. The industry raised some serious funding in 2021 and innovation is booming

But the sector is still dwarfed by more mature industries, like VC-favourite fintech and human-focused healthtech, leading life for pet tech innovators to feel ruff.

One way to address feelings of isolation is through community-building — and the biggest in Europe has been formed by Unleashed. 

Find out more about the community here.

\Analysis 

Is the pet sector recession-proof?

From tech giants to startups, the impending recession is hitting every facet of the tech ecosystem leading to layoffs, slashed valuations and a funding freeze. But how are pet techs faring? 

Investors, founders and analysts say that while operating conditions are deteriorating, the sector is bullish about its ability to withstand the worst. 

Read how the sector is being impacted here. 

Pet tech news roundup

💰 Funding bonanza for insurtechs

Stockholm-based pet insurance startup Lassie, founded in 2020 and claiming to be the first insurance platform that rewards policyholders for preventative approaches giving pets the conditions for a healthy life, raised €11m in its Series A funding led by Felix Capital. Investors included Inventure, Passion Capital and angels. The company is aiming to expand its product offerings and take the brand beyond Sweden. 

Another insurtech, Paris-based Dalma, raised a €15m Series A, led by Northzone, with participation from Project A and Anterra Capital, existing investors and angel investors such as Sam Edelson, ex-director of product management at Airbnb. This round brings total investment in the company to €17m since starting in May 2021. They plan to use the investment to improve coverage personalisation, reimbursement speed and live vet chat support. 

🇪🇬 Petcare-at-home platform raises... an undisclosed amount 

Vetwork, an Egypt-based petcare platform founded in 2019 that connects pet parents with service providers at home, raised a bridge round for an undisclosed sum. Investors included several from Saudi Arabia, members of the Alexandria Angel Network and financial support from Nestlé Purina. Vetwork reportedly has over 400 pet care service providers on its roster and serves over 38k pets.

📱 VetAI pushes for remote prescribing to be allowed permanently

VetAI, a telemedicine veterinary service that offers app-based video consultations to pet owners, is calling for remote prescribing to be allowed permanently. They analysed seven months of records over the pandemic and found 4,282 remote prescriptions were given, antibiotic prescribing rate was low, treatments were effective and no harm was caused. 

Drawing a parallel to the incorporation of modern technologies to support GP consultations, they are inviting veterinary governing bodies to consider remote prescribing on an ongoing basis for certain cases under certain conditions, such as a secure video and audio link with clinical record keeping and pharmacovigilance practice. 

Sifted Suggests

Look what the cat dragged in

Cats have been added to the list of animals able to pass Covid on to people. Thai scientists reported that a 10-year-old cat sneezed in the face of the veterinary surgeon as she swabbed it for SARS-CoV-2. The cat and its owners tested positive for the virus and three days later the vet developed fever, sniffles and a cough, later also testing positive for the virus. 

Genetic analysis confirmed that she was infected with the same variant as the cat and its owners, and though cat-to-human transmission risk is still probably rare, the Thai researchers advise taking extra precautions when handling animals suspected of being infected.

Working like a dog — and cat 

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, a world-renowned animal rescue centre founded in 1860 with three locations in the UK, has extended aid to other animal shelters worldwide since 2018. An increasingly complex business has led them to enterprise resource planning ERP software to Oracle NetSuite, which offers automation, collaborative workflows across departments and more sophisticated business reporting, along with human resources management and ecommerce capabilities. This change is expected to save weeks in manual processing per year — much needed as their operations expand.