Lupa, the AI-native veterinary practice management platform, has closed a £3m seed from top investors including firstminute capital, 2100 Ventures and Vento by Exor Ventures. Other investors include top McKinsey, BCG, JP Morgan, Nexi, and NovaCapital angels. Lupa will use the new funding to accelerate product development and commercial expansion.
The veterinary industry faces mounting pressure from increasing pet ownership – which grew 36% during COVID – an issue exacerbated by a growing shortage of UK-based vets. Current software solutions are outdated and inefficient, with only 11% of UK vets satisfied with their PMS. Most vets spend 10-20 hours per week on administrative tasks that could be automated.
Ex-Boston Consulting Group Nicolò Frisiani and Matei Bjola were joined by ex-Meta Raul Lozano Martin to co-found a solution to the issue, in the shape of Lupa. Raul heard first-hand the problems faced within the veterinary industry through his sister who works as a vet in Spain. The startup has assembled a world-class team to build and sell the platform, including engineers from Google, Amazon and Palantir.
Lupa is reimagining practice management software (PMS) for veterinary clinics with an intuitive, AI-powered Veterinary Operating System that automates administrative tasks. The key pillars of the platform are:
Thanks to its platform – which also includes AI-enabled data migration, standardised templates, and both clinical and non-clinical automation – Lupa can save vets up to 10 hours per week on administrative tasks while providing clinical decision support. Early trials show the platform is 20 times faster to learn than legacy systems.
Importantly, the AI Co-Pilot offers suggestions and possibilities based on the conversation between the vet and the customer to streamline and speed up the diagnosis process. It is not intended or designed to make the overall decision on treatment, which will always ultimately lie with the qualified veterinarian.
The company has already onboarded multiple clinics and secured an exclusive partnership agreement with Vetsure, the UK's largest vet buying group with over 1,200 member clinics. Within the first month of this agreement, 12 new clinics entered final negotiation stages with Lupa. The platform was also recently ranked #1 Best New Veterinary PMS in the State of the PMS Report, outperforming over 100 evaluated solutions.
The company aims to expand beyond pure practice management software to become an all-in-one ecosystem connecting veterinary practices with pet owners. With its comprehensive mobile application, Lupa plans to help vets monetise pet owners in ways that they never managed to in the past, helping them tap into the £320bn global pet spend market outside of core veterinary services and products.
Funds raised will go towards commercial efforts, allowing Lupa to expand and onboard more veterinary providers across the country.
