A Phoenix-based startup is generating national buzz for its "smart" motorized pet door and app that it expects to launch later this year.
Pawport unveiled its automated pet door to much fanfare in January at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, landing on several “best of CES” lists by media outlets, including Popular Science and CNET, said Martin Diamond, CEO of Pawport.
“The experience at CES was just tremendous,” Diamond said. “We had just such an unbelievably overwhelming response from people who were attending — media that were there to look at and review products, and other people in the tech industry. It was extremely validating for us to see that kind of response from people.”
Pawport’s steel and aluminum pet door slides onto either a new or existing pet door frame, creating a weather-resistant seal that keeps out unwanted pests and saves energy. It comes with a lightweight pet collar that connects to the Pawport system via Bluetooth and automatically opens the door when the pet is near it.
Pet owners can track their pet’s activity, set curfews and remotely manage the Pawport door via the company’s app. They can also customize their pet’s schedule, keeping the doors locked during specific hours and set different access schedules for multiple pets.
Phoenix has proven to be fertile ground for pet-related startups. Companies that have set up shop here include Pet Ortho Braces, which makes custom orthotic braces; Artie, which raised seed funding last summer to help it make home-cooked meals for dogs; and Bundle x Joy, a pet care startup that raised its own $1 million seed round in March 2023.
Pawport expects to launch its smart pet doors in early summer, Diamond told the Business Journal.
“It’s coming up pretty soon and we’re going to be selling internationally,” Diamond said. “We have over 7,000 people signed up for pre-orders, and that (number) is growing every day.”
Pawport aims to 'redefine' the pet product industry
Diamond, pet industry executive Steve Martin and three other co-founders launched Pawport as Smartec Products Inc. in 2019. The co-founders obtained a patent for Pawport’s door rail system, which slides onto existing pet doors. After obtaining a patent, Diamond designed and branded the Pawport system, he said.
“Then we got to work on actually engineering all of the hardware, software and everything else that that has gone into building out the solution,” Diamond said.
Since then, the company grew its initial team of five to about 11 people, Martin said.
Pawport has raised an undisclosed amount from investors, in addition to $60,625 from 105 backers in a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign in 2021.
Through several updates on Pawport’s Kickstarter page, it told investors the company grappled with computer chip supply chain disruptions, prompting the need to hire a team of engineers to revise circuit board designs to get the Pawport pet door to market faster.
Pawport’s smart dog door is just the beginning of the company’s plans to “redefine” consumer expectations in the pet product industry, Diamond said.
“We're bringing a level of aesthetic, function and technology into the pet space that hasn't been seen before,” he said.
Pawport is creating a suite of pet products that connect and work together with plans to unveil them at CES 2025, including an automated litter box system for cats that can be retrofitted for placement on the outside of homes, Diamond said.
“We're hoping we can create a brand that really helps a lot of people and solves a problem with a product they can rely on and enjoy for many years,” Diamond said. “We’re hoping that we can expand our company and offer a good source of employment for people in the local market, and establish ourselves as a significant name in the pet space going forward.”
