Wenatchee-based PetHub joins pet care-focused accelerator

Wenatchee-based pet identification company PetHub is joining Leap Venture Studio, a pet care-focused startup accelerator.

Each company that joins the Los Angeles-based accelerator gets an investment of up to $200,000, and the program ends with a chance for the companies to pitch to investors and other industry leaders. PetHub is one of six companies in the cohort, Leap Venture Studio's fifth cohort overall, and the only company from Washington state.

"The collaboration within the cohort, the Leap community and beyond are the most exciting for us," Lorien Clemens, co-founder and CEO of PetHub, said in a news release. "We look forward to exploring those potential strategic partnerships, as well as the knowledge and insights we will gain from the program, to expand our business and help keep every family's pets happy, safe and home for the rest of their lives.”

The Leap Venture Studio program began Monday and runs for 12 weeks, into May. Other companies in the cohort include the veterinary employee experience company Hound, the plant-based dog treat company Bright Planet Pet and the virtual care platform Vetsie. Leap Venture Studio is a collaboration between the accelerator and investment firm R/GA Ventures, the animal welfare nonprofit Michelson Found Animals and the pet care tech coalition Kinship.

PetHub was founded in 2010. The company offers a digital identification service for pet owners to help them when a pet is lost. Users create an online profile detailing important information about their pets, such as age, medications and allergies, and someone who finds the lost pet can access all of that information through a QR code on the pet's collar. PetHub can also send notices to local shelters and vets when a pet has gone missing.

According to PetHub, 96% of its recovered pets are home in under 24 hours.

Pet care is becoming an increasingly hot field in the tech community. Seattle-based pet care marketplace Rover, for example, went public on the Nasdaq in August through a special purpose acquisition company merger worth $1.6 billion.