Pet telehealth startup ZumVet launches first virtual veterinary platform in Hong Kong

Singapore-based pet telehealth startup expands to Hong Kong following Seed funding

Singapore-based pet telehealth startup ZumVet today announced the launch of its platform in Hong Kong, a remote care solution offering a full suite of home-based health and wellness services for pets. This is the first pet-centric app of its kind in Hong Kong, combining a customer first experience, set to the highest standard levels of safety in healthcare. It offers pet owners with an immediate touchpoint to veterinary professionals, through video consults, an e-pharmacy and home-based testing.

Founded by animal lovers Athena Lee and Dr Grace Su, the startup has grown quickly over the last six months with more than 700% increase in the number of users. Ms Lee was formerly the CEO of Doctor Anywhere, a Singapore telehealth startup which has raised more than US$25 million in funding. Dr Su worked at both government and private healthcare institutions, before consulting on Doctor Anywhere. With their combined expertise in digital health, finance and medicine, they have identified technology as a solution to improving access to healthcare. Their mission is to modernise the way veterinary medicine is delivered, to improve pets' quality of life.

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"While pet ownership is on the rise, yet the number of resources available to pet parents are still limited and it remains difficult for pet owners to sift through all the conflicting information that can be found online."

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"While pet ownership is on the rise, yet the number of resources available to pet parents are still limited and it remains difficult for pet owners to sift through all the conflicting information that can be found online," said Athena. "It can be especially stressful when unexpected behaviours or conditions suddenly arise and there's nowhere to turn to at a moment's notice. This is why we founded ZumVet – as pet owners ourselves, we wanted to create a care solution that can be accessed anytime, anywhere."

"ZumVet looks to expand the pet healthcare ecosystem rather than compete with existing players. The common belief amongst pet owners across Asia is that vets are inaccessible, and oftentimes ineffective. As a result, most people don't go to a vet often enough. Lack of regulatory oversight contributes to this problem and unlike human health, there are no pricing controls or strong veterinary accountability in place. What we want to do is to become the first natural touchpoint for pet owners, and use concrete data to create more cost effective and efficient treatments for common conditions," added Athena.

The COVID-19 pandemic has catalysed the rapid adoption of telehealth services. ZumVet, with its consumer centric approach and market leadership position in Singapore, has been well positioned to ride the tailwinds. ZumVet plans to accelerate the development of remote care solutions for pets and fuel its growth across the region.

COO and co-founder Dr Grace Su adds, "Technology has transformed the way we consume healthcare for both humans, and for our pets, and ZumVet is at the frontier of championing change in the telehealth veterinary space. Our objective is to promote more responsible pet ownership, and are excited to bring our patient-centric solution to more countries/regions in Asia Pacific.''

ZumVet aims to modernise veterinary care by taking a data-driven approach to understanding medical outcomes, and connects pet owners with local, qualified veterinarians through video consultations and house calls. The platform also provides pet owners with access to digital medical records, and home delivery services for medication.