• A trusted AI-driven vet diagnostics, and a pet biometrics business, are two of the disruptive start-ups in UNLEASHED by Purina's Class of 2025
• UNLEASHED 2025 start-ups come from across the globe including Italy, Brazil, South Korea, Thailand, Poland, Switzerland, and Singapore

18^th FEBRUARY 2025: UNLEASHED by Purina, a leading pet innovation and acceleration programme, has unveiled the seven start-ups that will form its ‘Class of 2025’. The 20-week accelerator programme, now in its sixth year, supports pet-tech startups looking to disrupt the market with innovative solutions to transform pet-care.

The stellar 2025 cohort includes the trusted AI-driven veterinary diagnostics software, biometric identification for pets, a community platform connecting pet owners with local products and services, and a hub for booking verified pet-sitters. The programme has global reach with representatives from Italy, Brazil, South Korea, Thailand, Poland, Switzerland, and Singapore.

The participants have access to up to CHF 50,000 per start-up and expert coaching through Purina’s commercial insights team to help accelerate their growth throughout the acceleration process.

The start-ups participating in UNLEASHED by Purina 2025 include:

• Aitem, Italy: Developers of Laika, the trusted AI-driven veterinary assistant for diagnostic guidance.
• Hubii, Brazil: Supporting digital sales growth through conversational commerce with hyper local retail stores.
• Petnow, South Korea: App-based pet biometric identification supporting accurate missing pet reports and pet registration.
• Petpaw, Thailand: An innovative app connecting pet owners with pets, products and services, and the pet owner community, to meet all their pet care needs.
• Petsy, Poland: Personalized care for your pet from local petsitters you can trust.
• SmartPetCare, Switzerland: Developers of iKitty, a smart wet cat food dispenser.
• Umami Bioworks, Singapore: Bioplatform for machine learning-led development and plug-and-play manufacturing of cultivated seafood products.

Powered by the Purina Accelerator Lab, the UNLEASHED programme supports start-ups through a test and learn approach that aims to drive business growth. During the 20-week programme, each start-up takes part in a tailored project developed in line with their specific ambitions and strategic direction. UNLEASHED also seeks to identify synergies between the start-ups and Purina, to explore opportunities for long-term partnerships. By providing new businesses with cutting-edge mentoring and invaluable hands-on expert resources, the Purina Accelerator Lab helps continue to drive innovation and growth in the pet-care sector.

Kim Bill, Head of the Purina Accelerator Lab, added: “As in every sector, AI is becoming a key focus as businesses explore the technology’s opportunities and applications for them. It was a key theme across the applications and the start-ups leveraging AI in our 2025 cohort represent the very best in providing creative ways to utilise the technology and advance the pet-care sector.

“We saw a huge breadth of exciting and novel ideas which push boundaries in the pet-care sector. With each successive year we have added more businesses from new countries into the UNLEASHED community to create a truly global network of disruptive start-ups. I look forward to including this year's participants among the successful companies we have supported so far.”

UNLEASHED has accelerated 40 start-ups since it began in 2019, including Pezz Life, a provider of at-home diagnostic kits for pets. The company, which has processed more than 60,000 tests across Europe annually, took part in the UNLEASHED programme in 2024. Since taking part, the company has achieved over 200% growth in DTC revenue, driven by research conducted during the programme. 

Massimiliano Melis, COO of Aitem, said: “We are passionate about pets and their owners’ wellbeing and about improving the pet ownership experience. We have already made strong positive steps on our journey to present a new and innovative solution to the pet care market and the opportunity to receive tailored support from such an established giant like Purina will help us to take the next great leap forward. We are excited to work alongside the rest of the Class of 2025 to build lasting relationships that will support all of us in the long term.” 

To find out more about UNLEASHED by Purina, please visit: www.UNLEASHEDbypurina.com.