Airvet – a leading pet telehealth company – announced it closed an oversubscribed $18.2 million Series B round led by Mountain Group Partners (MGP) with participation by Canvas Ventures, Headline, and Burst Capital, as well as strategic investors including Bob Antin, Founder and xCEO of VCA Animal Hospitals.
This funding round will support the continued expansion of Airvet’s partnership with enterprise and employer clients. Byron Smith, Managing Director at Mountain Group Partners, will join the Company’s Board of Directors.
Morgan Stanley predicts pet spending to increase to $1,320 per pet by 2025 while reaching $1,897 by 2030. However, as pet ownership costs continue to rise, access to care is at an all-time low. According to a recent report, Mars Veterinary Health expects over 41,000 vets will need to enter the industry over the next ten years to meet the projected healthcare needs of U.S. pets in 2030. With an average of 2,500-2,600 graduates becoming veterinarians each year, there is an estimated 15,000 veterinarian shortage for U.S. animals by 2030. This means that pet parents can expect caring for their pets to continue being a stress-ridden experience with financial and mental health implications.
Now that 70% of all US households are pet families, the ubiquitous nature of pet ownership, along with the evolving definition of family, has created a pressing need for employers to reconsider how they are defining and broadening their approach to wellness and family benefits.
KEY QUOTES:
“We’re honored to continue our partnership with Canvas Ventures, Headline, and many of our existing investors while bringing on Byron and MGP to lead this round and take the company to the next level.”
“Integrating Airvet into a company’s family and wellness benefits not only fosters a culture where all kinds of families are recognized and supported, but also impacts productivity through decreasing time away caring for a pet. And, with the mental health benefits of pets well proven, reinstating a core pillar of an employee’s mental health support enables them to do their best work, which at the end of the day is good for business.”
— Brandon Werber, CEO of Airvet
“There’s a lot of enthusiasm around the early traction we’re seeing with employers and enterprises looking to offer more inclusive benefits that include pet families. This new investment enables us to invest in scaling and expanding our service offerings within and beyond telehealth, to help us become a single solution for enterprise-grade pet services.”
— Airvet’s President Dan Lieberman
“Our MGP team has extensive background in the broader pet space and are impressed with the Airvet team’s vision to become a comprehensive digital care platform solution for pet families. Brandon’s background in pets, paired with Dan’s track record in digital health and benefits, makes an exciting leadership combination capable of executing the ambitious vision for Airvet.”
— Mountain Group’s Byron Smith
“When our employees found out that we were offering an employer sponsored benefit for our pet families that would allow them to talk to a vet any time, they were over the moon. It’s been well received and even elicits unprompted positive feedback, which is a testament to how it is both a high-quality experience while providing pet families with extended access to the veterinarian network, which is so greatly needed.”
— Amber Drake, Global Work & Life Benefits Manager at Adobe.
“As an owner of dogs, chickens, rabbits, and horses (currently), I have a strong connection with the mission at Airvet to make the world a happier and healthier place for all pets and those who care for them. Following our investment in the Series A in 2020, we continue to hear from enterprise clients about incredible engagement from employee pet parents, which makes doubling down and expanding on our partnership with Airvet an easy decision. We’re excited to continue our journey together to become the market leader in digital pet health for enterprises.”
— Rebecca Lynn, General Partner at Canvas Ventures
