Every pet owner knows the anxiety at the cost of veterinary care which is why River Capital saw the value of investing in a Liverpool venture that uses technology to keep the bills down. Tony McDonough reports

 

Many pet owners live with the real fear that if their beloved furry friend gets sick or injured the cost of a trip to the vet can be eye-watering.

That can be true even if the ailment is a minor one. There are around 50m pets in the UK and just 35,000 registered vets. Constrained capacity leads to higher costs yet our pets are part of the family so people often have no choice but to pay.

Liverpool vet Ben Sweeney recognised this problem and has come up with a technological solution which can offer pet owners instant access to a real vet for free.

His innovation, VidiVet, offers a personalised video response to any question in an average of five minutes.

Liverpool SME funding specialist River Capital was so impressed by the potential of Ben’s innovation, it backed him with a six-figure investment from its Fund:AI which is aimed at early-stage tech ventures.

For vet practices VidiVet is a neutral service with no add-on sales which offers an extension to their own business, with all subsequent consultations remaining within the practice.

It means the vet practice team is supported while the pet owners have 24/7 support both digitally and physically.

As more than 90% of cases don’t need emergency treatment it also reduces the pressure on emergency vets, while saving pet owners hundreds, and in some cases, thousands of pounds.

Four years after its launch, VidiVet employs more than 40 vets based around the world plus a small team of staff and directors. It is used by more than 150 vet practices, serving around 75,000 pets.

Ben said: “Our north star is helping vet practices to break down barriers to delivering brilliant care. Knowing that every pet will need a vet at some point in their life, delivering a seamless experience is the goal.

“Pet owners save money as they’re not paying emergency vet fees; they get the right advice within minutes from a qualified vet.

“And because the follow up treatment is delivered by their own vet the money goes back into those small practices helping them to invest in continuing to offer brilliant care.”

Another achievement for Ben and his team is changing attitudes to telehealth. He explained: “We’ve managed to turn around a distrust of vets towards telehealth and a view that it’s cannibalising their business.

“We’ve shown that our model benefits everyone and that for me is a proud moment, to have achieved this level of trust – it’s an exciting time.”

VidiVet was named one of the UK’s Top 10 most exciting early-stage technology companies by Tech Nation in 2023 and were considering how best to build the business, when River Capital’s Fund:AI directors made contact.

As well as further capital, VidiVet needed technical advice on how to use the platform’s data and artificial intelligence to improve efficiency and customer experiences.

 

 

According to Ben Sweeney, the collaboration was a perfect fit. He added: “We wanted to raise the money locally and remain Liverpool-centric and we really liked River Capital and the fund directors’ passion for Liverpool-based businesses. 

“We also valued their tech expertise and the ability to tap into their AI network and knowledge to help the business in the future.

“And they felt like the right people; you get a gut feeling when speaking to someone about whether they would be good to work with and there was a genuine good feeling about River Capital.”

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Fund:AI investment director David Walters said: “It’s great to work with Ben and the team, Ben’s energy is highly infectious and he is genuinely open to our expert operational support.

“VidiVet are using their data to find ways to continually improve, for example looking for patterns in symptoms and experiences and using that to help vets to make better judgements.

“The business is growing rapidly and this is an exciting time, on a deep learning journey to unlock further potential for improved efficiency, increased customer satisfaction and ultimately, business growth.”