A San Francisco startup is developing an AI-powered dog treat dispenser and has raised new funding as it gears up to launch the smart device.
John Honchariw founded Companion Labs in 2017 to help humans better understand subtle changes in their furry companions' body language and improve the experience of interacting with their pets remotely.
The company has developed an all-in-one device that utilizes computer vision and machine learning to analyze a dog's movements and then reward it with a treat after complying with an instruction or command.
On Wednesday, Companion announced that it raised $6 million, bringing its total funding to $14 million. Investors include Lerer Hippeau, Digitalis Ventures, Michelson Found Animals Foundation, Wheelhouse Partners, PETStock and Mars Petcare.
Eventually, the company will build capabilities for cats and other common species of pets but the device is only designed for dogs at the moment.
And yes, Honchariw has a dog — an adopted beagle mix named Boomer.
He also has a background in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Cornell, worked at some deep tech startups and was involved with commercialization and product strategy at Google alongside the tech giant's AI and robotics research teams.
Honchariw had a front-row seat as emerging technologies were accelerating with sensors, chips and other hardware components that were becoming smaller, faster, smarter and cheaper.
And "the idea of helping the species understand each other … I just think that's such a fun thing to explore and spend a good chunk of a career doing," Honchariw told me. And "if you can give someone access to what a being is already communicating, you're almost surely going to build more empathy for it."
Their pet industry partners include the SFSPCA and Los Angeles-based Michelson Found Animals.
Companion originally intended to develop smart devices for pet-centric businesses like shelters and boarding services. The company even started producing a version in early 2020 and was getting ready for a national launch, but then covid-19 hit, stalling those plans.
A lot of people adopted pets during the pandemic, though, and as shelter-in-place and work from home policies lifted, humans and pets had to confront their newfound separation anxiety.
So, Companion shifted gears to redesign a product for consumers.
“Overnight, almost all of our customers had to close their business. Most of the shelters ran out of animals, and that's a good thing,” Honchariw said. So, the company pivoted. “It seemed like, 'oh my god, if we’re going to help people, now’s a great time to go in homes, let’s do this.'”
But they didn’t just have to deal with supply chain issues. Companion’s team had to redesign the device from something industrial-looking to something people would want in their homes.
“The consumer device needs to be beautiful,” Honchariw said, and also needs a consumer-facing app.
Honchariw considers dog kennels, walkers and trainers to be Companion's main competition, but there are other smart devices with a similar combination of computer vision, automatic treat dispensing and remote monitoring. They included Go Dogo, Puppod and Furbo.
Companion considers its system more sophisticated than other devices, Honchariw said, because it has similar computing power to an iPad and prioritizes the dog's experience.
"We layered around all the things for pet parents, but it's really meant for the dog to have enjoyable conversation for hours a day," Honchariw said. "There are other devices out there that allow you to interact manually a little bit, but the dog doesn't engage with the device proactively. Whereas our device does engage with the animal proactively to do useful and fun things."
Globally, there are more than 400 private, venture backed companies working on all things related to pet technology, according to PitchBook. Nearly two dozen are in the Bay Area.
And the so-called pet tech market is expected to reach $35 billion by 2032, according to a recent report from Grand Market Insights.
"Awareness regarding the importance of pet fitness and health will accelerate the demand for innovative pet monitoring devices. These smart devices help pet owners to get early detection of behaviorial issues of pets. They also collect data continuously and send (alerts) to owners to warn them regarding any health issues their pets might be facing," the report said.
Companion currently has 15 employees and Honchariw wants to grow the team to around 25 over the next year.
Its devices will start shipping in early 2024. Pre-orders require a $49 deposit and the devices will be priced starting at $49 monthly.
