Pet Tech Industry News
Digi-Pet Aims to Make Pet Transport Less Stressful
Unisys, the large old school tech company, has created an app that allows pet parents to monitor their pet's condition in the aircraft cargo hold. The app is called Digi-Pet and also offers live stream video, photos and voice exchange. However, Digi-pet is not...
UK App Helps Users Find Ethical Dog Breeders
Tailwise, a London-based startup, is developing an app that will help prospective pet parents locate responsibly bred dogs. The company has secured a £200,000 investment from angel investors and an investment fund. The app sounds similar to Petfinder, BarkBuddy, and...
PetPlate Raises $4 million to Deliver More Meals
PetPlate, a service that delivers fresh-cooked pet meals directly to your home, received a $4 million investment to grow operations. The investment was led by Dane Creek Capital, a firm that invests in the pet industry. Dane Creek is run by Mark Warren and Glen...
Rover Scores $155 Million
Rover, the Seattle-based dog sitter marketplace, announced it has secured $155 million in new funding from investors. This brings the total funding for Rover to $310 million. The Wall Street Journal pegged the company's valuation at $970 million - not quite unicorn...
Aibo Sales Pass 10,000 units
Sony announced that it has sold 11,111 units of it's Aibo robot dog in the first quarter of 2018. Due to this greater-than-expected demand, Sony is considering boosting output for the robot. While the Aibo is currently only available in Japan, Sony is also...
Recent Pet Tech Transactions
Below is a table listing significant pet tech investments or acquisitions in the last couple of years. Please let me know if I have missed anything. Investor/Buyer Amount Action Recipient/Seller Date Notes Mars Petcare $117 million acquisition Whistle dog collars...
Amazon Launches pet-focused Wag
Amazon recently launched Wag, a section of their website devoted to pet food and supplies. Wag is also the name of Amazon's in-house dog food brand. Wag dog food is currently only available for Amazon Prime members. This strong push into pet-related ecommerce seems to...
Mars Petcare is offering Free Whistle Trackers to Banfield Customers
Mars Petcare, owners of both the Whistle tracker and the Banfield Pet Hospital chain, is offering a way for Banfield customers to get a free Whistle for their dogs. (Sorry, cats are not eligible.) Banfield members can go here to sign up to receive their free tracker....
Pet speakers get funded on Shark Tank
A tiny speaker that attaches to your pet's collar was funded on a recent episode of Shark Tank. Robert Herjavec invested $499,000 for a 33% interest in the company. The developer of the speaker, Michelle Winowich, indicated that she has sold more than $2 million worth...