Culver City-based Airvet's mission to connect more pets with vets is getting a boost.
The company announced Friday they have raised $14 million in a Series A round to expand their telemedicine and telehealth veterinary network.
CEO Brandon Werber said he's seen the number of users and doctors on its platform surge during the pandemic, as homebound pet owners scrambled to find pet care online. The company — which was launched in 2018 — now has a network of 2,600 veterinarians across 43 states, according to Werber.
<p>The raise was led by Canvas Ventures and includes funding from e.ventures, Burst Capital, Starting Line, TrueSight Ventures, Hawke Ventures, Bracket Capital, Michael Stoppelman, and several major veterinary industry leaders. dot.LA founder Spencer Rascoff <a href="https://dot.la/st/about" target="_blank">is also an investor</a>.</p><p>Pet owners can download the app on Android or iPhone and set up a meeting with a licensed vet for a $30 flat fee per session. There's no time limit per session. Werber said often those sessions include follow-ups.</p><p>About 71% of pet owners go to Google or social media to answer their questions about their pet's odd behavior, Werber said, where they often get amateur advice that can put their furry friends at risk. That, he says, is the behavior he hopes Airvet can change. </p><p>He adds the platform isn't intended to replace in-person vet visits, but to give people unsure of whether to take their pet in another option.</p><p>"So the goal for us, isn't to say 'hey, use Airvet instead of going to the (vet's) office', it's 'use Airvet instead of going to Google,"' he said. </p><p>Werber is the son of "veterinarian to the stars" Dr. Jeff Werber, a regular face on KTLA <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2017/05/06/dr-jeff-werber-delivers-top-notch-care-celebrities-pets/101278314/" target="_blank">who counts</a> Demi Moore, Rod Stewart and Nick Jonas's pets among his patients.</p><p>Werber calls his father the company's chief vet officer and the inspiration for the platform.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQyMDUyMi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNTAzODU0NH0.5TnBhcPcxkdI6aC61EOryEL3yq8iWteEqZbLl96JYWc/image.jpg?width=980" id="308be" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4f6b1be03050fec300ff9d6d53bb43a0" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Photo courtesy of Airvet
<p>"The vet industry has no face," he said. "People don't know their own vets' name, 50% of pet owners don't even have a primary vet."</p><p>Telehealth <a href="https://dot.la/can-telemedicine-stem-the-spread-of-coronavirus-2645650007.html" target="_self">has been growng in popularity</a> during the pandemic, and healthcare apps like Cloudbreak and GoodRx have been expanding their businesses rapidly. Virtual veterinary medicine would be a logical next step.</p><p>Airvet provides both telehealth and telemedicine. The difference is subtle but important in veterinary medicine. Any user can download the app to get recommendations and suggestions from licensed vets. But only veterinarians <a href="https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/pet-owners/petcare/veterinarian-client-patient-relationship-vcpr" target="_blank">who have an established relationship with the animal and the owner</a> can actually prescribe drugs or care. In most states, that must be done in person, largely because a pet can't describe pain over video chat the way a human can. A vet often has to be physically present to assess the animal's condition.</p>
<p>Airvet can help establish those relationships, but for many, the app might be most useful to figure out whether their pet's condition is serious enough to require a visit to the local vet.</p><p>"Part of our business is we partner with vet hospitals [...] so that they can practice telemedicine with their own clients," Weber said, adding that the app can also be downloaded by "any pet owner in the country for telehealth and they can get advice and guidance and support and things from vets on demand 24/7."</p><p>Werber says the app's aim is to provide everyone the experience he had with his father, one of the nation's most recognizable vets, and someone he had on call at any time of day.</p><p>"I want every pet owner to know that they have a vet in their pocket, and if anything were to happen, day or night — even three in the morning — they can tap a button and a vet will be there to talk to them within a minute or less." Werber said.</p>From Your Site Articles
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Dogs and Cats - Living Together: The $75B Pet Economy and Why Los Angeles is Headquarters
Feb 04 2020
Snuggling on a chair, hovering over a laptop, stretched out on the floor, the long haired-haired, vaguely Calico-looking Koko with his own Instagram feed is a cat influencer in the making. He is also the face of Basepaws, a feline DNA testing service that's trying to tap into the $75 billion spent on pets in the U.S.
Gingi, a sweet feline that died too young, is the inspiration behind startup PrettyLitter, a mail-order cat litter that monitors feline health. And then there's dozens of dogs that inspired DogVacay, a pet sitting app that was sold last year to Rover. Founder Aaron Hirschhorn launched a new service last fall – stem cell storage banks for pets – motivated by his own experience using the regenerative treatment.
<p>According to Pitchbook, pet tech startups in Los Angeles County have pulled in more than $500 million in investments in the last six years. The largest and most well-known came from Softbank Vision Fund for <a href="https://wagwalking.com/" target="_blank">Wag Labs</a> — once the poster child for app-powered pet services. As Wag struggles to compete with venture capital-backed Rover, a slew of other pet tech companies are making their mark offering premium services.</p><p>"When I started DogVacay in 2012, I heard venture doesn't belong in pets. I got lots of 'No, the markets are too small,' said Hirschhorn, who has raised $11 million in funding led by Maveron for his latest venture, Gallant. "Now, the first thing that I hear is that people spend so much on their pets."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-proxy-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vbWVkaWEucmJsLm1zL2ltYWdlP3U9JTJGc3RhdGljJTJGbmV3X2Rlc2lnbiUyRmltYWdlcyUyRmhvbWVwYWdlJTJGYXBwLXNob3djYXNlLXBob25lcyUyRmFwcC1zaG93Y2FzZS1lbi11cyU0MDJ4LjhkMzljZTE0NDNkYy5wbmcmaG89aHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cucm92ZXIuY29tJnM9Mjg3Jmg9ZTFjMjg1YjBjZWJkMGZhZDA3M2NlYWQxMmYzNjJlMDkwZTIyOGJkZDMzYmNjMzg4Mjk4NjdlZjhhNTg3OGFhNiZzaXplPTk4MHgmYz0xMTc2ODAyMzI0IiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNTk3ODg4N30.zrEjCy9z83a4o2pvxR6UBPtjzTMHLz5QlOdSVMZMCWI/img.jpg" id="89044" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c3baf8233e8106d859b7ac69618f9ab2" />
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">DogVacay is a pet sitting app that was sold last year to Rover.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">
<a href="https://www.rover.com/static/new_design/images/homepage/app-showcase-phones/app-showcase-en-us@2x.8d39ce1443dc.png" target="_blank">www.rover.com</a>
</small>
</p><p><a href="https://www.gallant.com/" target="_blank">Gallant</a>, which launched in the fall, charges a $395 processing fee and $95 a year to store stem cells removed by a veterinarian when pets are spayed or neutered. It aims to make canine life healthier and longer. The company, which has a Federal Drug Administration compliant lab in La Jolla, appeals to veterinarians who can charge a fee for their service and have the promise of pets returning for treatment as they age.<br/></p><h2>The Pet Economy</h2><p>Americans love their four-legged friends. More than half of U.S. households own a pet and while ownership rates haven't grown dramatically over the last decade, the amount people willing to spend on their animals has. The American Pet Products Association estimates last year spending topped $75 billion from $45 billion a decade earlier. And the figure is quadruple what it was in 1994.</p><p>"We see a ton of interest in the space," said Mike Jones, head of the Santa Monica incubator and investment firm Science Inc. His firm, which invested in DogVacay and Rover, recently backed <a href="https://www.dogdrop.co/" target="_blank">DogDrop</a>, a flexible canine day care. Jones said they made the calculation that with millennials choosing to have children later in life, animals would play a bigger role. "There's a lot of disposable income that people can spend on pets," he said. "The price point they are willing to spend is way higher."</p><p>There's companies like <a href="https://www.modernanimal.com/" target="_blank">Modern Animal</a>, a Playa Vista-based startup that wants to revamp veterinary clinics for the digital age with telemedicine and other services. It raised $13.5 million in seed funding last fall.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjY1Nzk4OS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNTA3NDI3N30.JBEHZXq1XcS02qhhgDg4mosJJSpT0QlC9uInMpOSOXk/img.png?width=980" id="e4c33" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ecccbb00dabdee04d541c7aa2c69322e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption..."><a href="https://www.gallant.com/" target="_blank">Gallant</a> stores stem cells removed by a veterinarian when pets are spayed or neutered to make canine life healthier and longer..</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Gallant.com</small></p><p><a href="https://scratchpay.com/" target="_blank">Scratchpay</a>, a Pasadena-based company that offers financing for veterinary care, scored $65 million in a Series B round in October.<br/></p><p>And then there's companies more akin to Gallant like <a href="https://prettylittercats.com/" target="_blank">PrettyLitter</a>, a mail-order litter that monitors for health by turning colors when urine shows unusual signs of alkalinity and other factors. </p><p>Their growth is part of a larger trend powered by Americans' relationship with their pets, mostly dogs. This humanization, as those in the pet industry like to call it, has driven a push in luxury products and services.</p><p>"More and more people are thinking of their pets as parts of their family, as human beings," said Hal Herzog, a professor of psychology at Western Carolina University who has spent decades looking at the relationship between human and animals. </p><p>"We spend twice as much on pets per capita as we did 30 years ago."</p><p>Where's the money going? On the extravagant side, there's pets spas, canine herbal medicine, Louis Vuitton pet carriers, and diet delivery services. And there's also a booming trend of influencer canines who have their own agents, like Instagram star JiffPom (and his 9.8 million followers). </p><p>Pet owners are willing to go to extremes to spoil their dogs and cats -- even wading into unregulated pet technology to keep them healthy.</p><h2>Unregulated Pet Technology</h2><p>Founded in 2016 by Anna Skaya, Basepaws promises to tell feline owners with a sample of saliva from their cheek, "the secrets to keeping their health in tip-top shape." The El Segundo-based company presents itself as a health service but operates in a non-regulated zone, along with several other pet companies coming up including PrettyLitter and Gallant.</p><p>Skaya, who previously ran Groupon in Russia, originally wanted to name her company 23andMeow. Her proprietary genetic testing provides cat owners with information about their breeds along with hereditary disease. For humans those service are approved by the Federal Drug Administration. Still they aren't intended for diagnostic purposes and there are various levels of evidence to support many of their claims.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjY1Nzk4Ny9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMDU0Mzg2N30.NsQNZYIHPsqvzQNBAFH1trMeWYIb30H5KBBqS1e1lJ4/img.png?width=980" id="a4083" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a464b45e0639e84091d67467b04731c6" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption..."><a href="https://prettylittercats.com/" target="_blank">PrettyLitter</a> is a mail-order litter that monitors for health by turning colors when urine shows unusual signs of alkalinity and other factors.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">PrettyLitter.com</small></p><p>And while Skaya and PrettyLitter founder Daniel Rotman say that their services are not diagnostic — merely a tool — they want pet owners looking to improve their animals health to turn to them.<br/></p><p>"When you do a DNA test it opens up this world about breeds and diseases," she said. "I always say the cats can't talk but their DNA can." Last year, she clinched $250,000 on Shark Tank and is looking to close a $2.5 million seed round next month.</p><p>The service runs $129 and she sees her company, growing to include nutrition products. Hirschhorn, who invested in Basepaws, sees it working for the very same reasons that he believes his own company will take off. "There's this macro trend toward health rather than fighting diseases," Hirschhorn said, adding that it's the same reason humans are taking greater care of themselves.</p><p>Skaya has loftier goals: "If we know what diseases they have, we can make sure they are not breeding. We are eradicating genetic diseases."</p>
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