Liverpool vet tech company, VidiVet, has closed its latest seed funding round early after raising £310,000 to fuel its growth and continued development.
The new funds coincide with the company being crowned as the region’s most exciting technology scaleup at Tech Nation’s Rising Stars 5.0.
VidiVet currently employs a 33-strong team, and its VidiVet app gives pet owners immediate access to a UK registered vet, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is already being used by more than 10,000 pet owners.
The majority of the £310,000 investment came from business angels and existing investors, along with several well-known names in the veterinary industry. These include Wendy Furness, who is a member of the UK Business Angels Association and was previously a director at Pride Veterinary Referrals in Derby, and Adam Tjolle, who was previously CEO at Inglis Vets, which has practices throughout Edinburgh.
The business was founded by vet Ben Sweeney in 2020 and has already benefitted after securing a future fund loan from the British Business Bank, the government-owned development bank dedicated to new and smaller businesses.
Sweeney said: “We’ve grown rapidly over the past 12 months and have significantly increased the numbers of veterinary practices and pet owners who are using VidiVet. The [new] money will enable us to continue growing our team to support the high numbers of veterinary practices we are on-boarding every month.
“The feedback we’re receiving from pet owners and vet practices has been excellent. The app also enables veterinary practices to increase capacity, as well as alleviating pressure for their teams, at a time when more than half of practices aren’t accepting new clients.”
