Traini, a Palo Alto-based startup focused on “pet emotional intelligence,” announced it has raised $7.5 million to develop AI systems that interpret pet emotions and intentions and translate them into human-understandable language through real-time, two-way interaction.
The round was led by Banyan Tree, Silver Capital, ZhaoTai Group, and NYX Ventures, with participation from Starting Gate Fund and Jade Capital, alongside a group of individual technology investors. Traini said existing backers Tao Foundation and Xiaomi co-founder Feng Hong also participated. The company plans to use the proceeds for technology R&D, product iteration, and market expansion.
Central to Traini’s approach is PEBI (Pet Empathic Behavior Interface), which the company describes as a multimodal system that analyzes audio, visual, and behavioral signals—such as vocalizations, facial expressions, and movement—and renders an interpretation in conversational form. Traini said its models currently cover nearly 120 dog breeds and that “emotion translation accuracy” can reach up to 94%, while also positioning the platform for applications in behavior translation, emotion recognition, personalized services, and pet health-related insights.
Traini’s first consumer hardware product will be the Cognitive Smart Collar, which the company markets as a cognitive pet wearable and a human–dog “language” translation device built on generative AI. The company said the collar combines sound analysis with physiological signals such as heart rate, temperature, and movement to produce an emotional profile and deliver actionable feedback to pet owners, with potential use cases extending into early detection of health issues.
Traini also highlighted traction metrics, saying it has served more than 2 million dogs, generated significant social media reach, and launched prior AI products including PetGPT and T-Agent. The company said it is working with partners across consumer technology categories and has relationships with tens of thousands of local pet stores in the U.S.
KEY QUOTE:
“Our mission is to develop an intelligence that reignites the natural instincts of our furry companions and builds a true spiritual bond between pets and their humans.”
Arvin Sun, Founder, Traini
