Pet adoption rates have soared throughout the pandemic, particularly for first-time pet owners. But new owners might be unaware of the amount of money it costs to keep a furry little pandemic partner alive and well. San Francisco-based veterinary care startup Fuzzy is on a mission to keep these costs low. The company announced Tuesday that it raised $18 million in new financing to further this push.
The Series B, led by Greycroft, brings the company’s total financing to $36 million. The startup will invest the additional capital in expanding its product offering as well as its team as it continues to scale.
Fuzzy’s completely digital veterinary care platform provides pet owners with access to a wide range of essential services via its mobile app, from virtual consultations to behavioral training.
The startup aims to eliminate the need for costly in-person vet emergencies by providing pet owners with continuous access to educational resources and on-demand answers from pet health experts as well as licensed veterinarians.
After personally spending thousands of dollars on traditional veterinary care, Fuzzy co-founders Zubin Bhettay and Eric Palm set out to create a cost-effective and more personalized pet care experience.
“The pet industry is growing incredibly quickly. There’s a lot of opportunity and there’s also a lot of competition coming into the space,” Bhettay said in an interview with Built In. “That means that there’s a hell of a lot of pressure on us and on other companies to continue doing great work and to continue innovating.”
Fuzzy originally began as a subscription-based in-home veterinary care service. The company pivoted to telehealth services last January, just in the nick of time.
“I think that what you found in the pandemic is that a lot of people were either unable to go into a veterinarian clinic, veterinarian clinics were overrun because of their operational challenges, or people just felt more comfortable getting access to healthcare services digitally,” Bhettay said. “We were really fortunate we came out on the lucky side of 2020.”
More than 50 percent of pets in the United States have no access to veterinary care, according to the company. Bhettay hopes addressing this problem will have a positive impact both by extending pets’ lives and strengthening the bond owners share with their pets.
“We want to be in a position where we can be accessible to every pet household out there,” Bhettay continued. “There’s this huge opportunity for us to be able to make a positive dent in the world and I think that really gets us excited. One of the things that people get excited about when they join [our team] is the work that we do positively impacts people’s lives every day.”
Additional investors Crosscut Ventures, Matrix Partners and Gaingels participated in the round, among others.
