TORONTO– Vetster, the world’s first comprehensive virtual veterinary and pet care marketplace, today announced it has raised a total of $12.25M CAD after only six months since launching its veterinary telemedicine service. The investment is led by Whitecap Venture Partners along with Brightspark Ventures, Hedgewood and angels including Wealthsimple’s Michael Katchen and Leen Li, Robert Halpern, and Jeff Fettes also contributing to the round. The raise comes on the heels of Vetster exceeding its initial growth targets by more than 250 percent. The investment will be used to fuel the company’s growth and help to expand its preventative and urgent care services including the company’s new mobile app for iOS and Android coming in early June.
Since its launch in November 2020, Vetster has quickly established its marketplace across the US and Canada, making it the largest veterinary marketplace available today. Pet owners are securing bookings each day with the thousands of top-rated veterinarians and veterinary technicians available in the Vetster marketplace. Vetster is on a trajectory to expand into new regions including the UK, Australia, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
“Vetster is pioneering the global pet-care industry at a critical time when digital-first solutions are needed to connect pet owners with veterinarians and improve access to care,” said Mark Bordo, CEO and CoFounder, Vetster. “As the industry adopts telemedicine as a viable path to treat their pet patients and provide care outside of the clinic and clinic hours, Vetster aims to be the leading platform used around the world.”
“The Vetster team’s expertise in building world-class marketplaces is impressive,” said Shayn Diamond, Partner at Whitecap Venture Partners. “The company’s growth trajectory, plans for international expansion, and vision for a multi-service pet health marketplace is nothing short of disruptive. We are excited to work alongside the team and help them meet the significant need of the market.”
In North America, pet ownership has reached an all-time high as a result of the pandemic and pet owners are spending more than $100B on their pets. At the same time veterinarians are seeing a rise in pets per practice of almost 50 percent. Responding to this growth and the desire for alternative methods of care during the pandemic, veterinary associations are changing regulations to fulfill this vital need through telemedicine, teletriaging, and online prescription services.
“It’s time veterinarians, technicians and their patients had a safe, secure online platform designed to meet their holistic pet health needs,” said Regan Johnson, CTO and CoFounder, Vetster. “Vetster is the destination for that care. From virtual appointments, triage, and prescription delivery to pet insurance and pet care products, the Vetster team is ready to deliver a transformative pet care experience.” (IANS)
