Otto, formerly TeleVet, which makes software for veterinary clinics, raised a $43M Series B led by Mercury Fund, which led its $5M Series A in December 2022
Context & Ripple Effects
Otto’s Series B follows Mercury Fund’s earlier $5M Series A investment in December 2022, making this a continued-financing story rather than a first institutional backing. It also comes after several pet-care startups raised for consumer-facing telehealth and service models, including Vetster’s $30M Series B for pet-care telehealth and Modern Animal’s $40M Series B for a telemedicine-enabled care model.
The distinction matters: Otto is positioned around software for veterinary clinics, while much of the related coverage centers on reaching pet owners directly. The funding gives a clinic-software provider a larger base from which to compete for the workflows behind veterinary care.
First-order effects
- Otto gains $43M in Series B financing, with Mercury Fund extending its existing relationship from the company’s 2022 Series A.
- Mercury Fund deepens its exposure to Otto’s veterinary-clinic software strategy, while Otto enters the market with materially more funding than at its prior round.
Second-order effects
- Clinic-software rivals and veterinary telehealth providers face a better-funded Otto when competing for relationships with practices; consumer-facing operators such as Airvet and Vetster remain adjacent rather than identical competitors.
- The round reinforces the value of owning clinic workflows: platforms that depend on veterinarian participation may have stronger incentives to integrate with, rather than merely sell around, practice operations.
Third-order effects
- If funding continues to flow toward practice infrastructure alongside consumer telehealth, pet-care technology could separate into a clinic-software layer and a consumer-access layer, with integration between them becoming strategically important.
- Repeat backing by an existing lead investor suggests that investors may increasingly favor vendors with an established route into veterinary practices over standalone point solutions, though this single round does not establish a market-wide shift.
The trend: Veterinary technology is expanding from pet-owner telehealth into the operational software that can anchor providers inside clinical practices.