The expanding role of PE in pet care and the push for operational excellence

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📈 A bite-sized stat tastier than kibble: VC and PE investments in the pet care space

Just under $12B has been invested in pet care across 745 VC and PE deals over the past three years

We looked at all venture and private equity pet care investments tracked by PitchBook from Aug 2022 to Jul 2025. Where deal sizes weren’t disclosed, we estimated values using average deal size by stage (e.g. Seed, Series A, Later VC), based on disclosed data.

While total capital deployed dropped from ~$6B last year to ~$3.7B this year, the dip is largely driven by fewer large PE platform deals, which often come down to timing. VC activity remains strong and steady, with 185 deals logged in the past 12 months—nearly 3.5 deals per week—focused on pet diagnostics, AI, workflow automation, and wellness products.

Source: Pitchbook

🐾 The purr-spective: This isn’t a funding winter—it’s a shift in pacing. Over the past three years:

• VC accounted for 726 of 745 deals, totalling ~$6.6B

• PE drove ~$5.3B across just 19 transactions, showing the outsized impact of roll-up bets and strategic platforms

Geographies like the US, UK, Germany, and South Korea continue to lead in deal activity and cheque size. And across both VC and PE, the common thread is clear: repeatable, defensible, and margin-enhancing models are getting funded—not speculative pet gadgets.

Founders should take note: operational leverage and product-market fit now matter more than scale-at-all-costs. As capital continues to flow into the pet care infrastructure, the next breakout companies will be those that help the industry work smarter—not just louder.

🎾 What we’re chasing: Services ripe for AI efficiency to reduce costs

Pet care costs continue to rise, making ownership increasingly prohibitive

Pet care costs continue to rise, making ownership increasingly prohibitive. U.S. vet expenses rose about 6% in the past year, with visits declining for the first time in three years as owners delayed care. Average annual spending per pet-owning household—including vet care, food, and supplies—now stands at about $1,515.

The rise of pet care franchises offers a capital-light route to new competition

Franchise growth in grooming, boarding, and daycare continues, giving operators a way to scale with proven systems and local operator economics. As prices remain high, more national brands are expected to expand through franchise models, drawing in new competitors and adding some pricing pressure.

Leading U.S. franchise names include Dogtopia (244 locations, ~80% growth in the past three years), Camp Bow Wow (206 locations, ~24% growth), Hounds Town USA (66 locations, ~267% growth), Pet Supplies Plus (over 720 locations), and Dog Training Elite (around 283 locations).

AI tools boost efficiency and reduce reliance on human labour

Platforms like VetCove streamline clinic procurement, while AI scribes save practices up to 10 hours a week in documentation. With rising labour costs and shortages of specialised talent, AI will enable models such as one-person groomers or micro-vet locations—bringing more localised services at manageable costs. "In general, I view AI as a deflationary force more than as a source of growth," explains Charlie Tapp, founder of Vetted Capital. 

🐾 The purr-spective: Pet care has quickly become an incredibly profitable sector. The rising demand and limited supply have meant that prices have risen, often driven by PE entrants, inefficient incumbents, and sometimes expensive VC-backed startups. However, it is this exact interest and investment that will lower costs for a more efficient pet care world.

🐕‍🦺 The long leash: Why operational excellence is the next frontier in pet care

From kennel chaos to hospitality-grade care

The best pet resorts no longer resemble the kennels of old. Today, many operate like boutique hotels—25,000 square foot campuses, real-time tracking, staff communication protocols, and defined service standards. As Taylor Wallace, Chief Operating Officer, Pet Resort Hospitality Group, put it: “It’s about having a collar policy and an evacuation plan.” The scale and risk profile of these businesses demand hotel-like rigor, and they’re increasingly embracing the tech to match.

From geolocation-driven pickups to dynamic pricing engines, the next wave of pet resorts is borrowing from hospitality and aviation. Whether it's offering rest-day recommendations based on dog activity or rolling out seatbelt cutters for safety, these operational details matter more when you're managing dozens of dogs and thousands of daily interactions.

Read the full article.

The invisible infrastructure crisis

As Charlie Tapp writes, the biggest opportunities in pet tech aren’t flashy—they’re functional. Most of the industry still runs on spreadsheets, phone calls, and paper schedules. This “invisible infrastructure crisis” affects every facet of care, from vet clinic inventory to pet food distribution.

Companies have turned a messy manual process into what Tapp calls “Expedia for vets.” Elsewhere, AI scribes are reclaiming hours of admin time from overwhelmed clinicians. But, the biggest beneficiaries may not be startups. They’re incumbents—distributors, retailers, and platforms with large ops teams—because squeezing just 2% to 5% more efficiency can mean millions in EBITDA.

It’s about more than disruption; it’s about simplification. The companies solving tedious B2B problems are quietly creating massive, sustainable value.

Read the full article.

Pet care is more fragmented than it looks

Pet care isn’t one industry. It’s ten.

Grooming feels like a hybrid of a salon and a dermatology clinic. Daycare resembles childcare. Boarding blends wellness, logistics, and hospitality. Veterinary clinics function as multi-species hospitals, and pet nutrition spans both consumer packaged goods and prescription health.

Each vertical comes with its own quirks—different training, business models, customer expectations, and regulatory structures. That fragmentation is a challenge for standardization and a massive canvas for innovation. Few industries this large are still this blue sky. The opportunity isn’t just to build new tools—it’s to reimagine categories entirely.

Read the full article.

💸 Clawing in cash: Recent raises in pet tech

Xinglian Future (Shenzhen, China): Xinglian Future manufactures AI-powered smart pet wearables, combining health tracking and location monitoring for safer, more efficient pet care. The company raised an undisclosed amount in early stage VC funding from 01vc, Kylinhall Partners, and Lingyi Capital.

Small Door Veterinary (New York, NY): Small Door Veterinary is a membership-based veterinary clinic with personalized wellness plans and preventative care. The company raised $55.0M in later stage VC funding from C&S Family Capital, Lerer Hippeau, Primary Venture Partners, Toba Capital, and Valspring Capital.

Tractive (Pasching, Austria): Tractive develops GPS tracking collars for real-time pet location and early warning alerts. The company raised $35.0M in later stage VC funding.

Grublify (Fremont, CA): Grublify offers guided recipes and supplements for nutritionally complete, home-prepared dog meals. The company raised $60K in angel funding.

Petproov (London, UK): Petproov is a verification platform for pet transactions that reduces fraud and checks compliance. The company raised $160K in angel funding.

Pet Station (Busan, South Korea): Pet Station is a full-service retail and pet care destination offering registration, grooming, and shopping in one physical hub. The company raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding from Series Ventures.

Petgenoma (São Paulo, Brazil): Petgenoma is a DNA testing service for dogs offering ancestry, health screening, and trait prediction. The company raised $840K in early stage VC funding.

CanBiocin (Edmonton, Canada): CanBiocin creates natural probiotics for pet gut health and immunity. The company raised an undisclosed amount in later stage VC funding from Lesaffre International.

Dandylion (Toronto, Canada): Dandylion develops dermatologist-approved pet grooming products made with natural, fragrance-free ingredients. The company raised an undisclosed amount in early stage VC funding from Digitalis Ventures.

Smartsy (Belgrade, Serbia): Smartsy builds smart dog houses for public spaces, with climate control, UV sterilisation, and data collection. The company raised $10K in accelerator funding from Katapult Accelerator.

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