Caleb’s the sort of dog everyone turns to look at.
A shimmering golden retriever, Caleb, looks like Air Bud. He loves running on the beach, is called “California Caleb” on Instagram, and lives in West Los Angeles with his owner, Rich Cooper. Cooper stopped Steven Eidelman, founder and CEO of veterinary clinic network Modern Animal mid-walk.
“You’re the Modern Animal guy, right?” Cooper asked Eidelman, who confirmed he is, in fact, The Modern Animal Guy. Eidelman’s not LA famous by any means, but he’s apparently LA-dog-owner-famous. And he wanted to tell Eidelman himself: He and Caleb, still warmly glistening on the ground, had been having a good experience.
“That’s what we started the company to do,” said Eidelman, whose previous startup, Whistle, sold to Mars in 2016 for $119 million. “The only thing that matters is how you show up in every clinic.”
Back in the Santa Monica clinic, as spaniels, doodles, and cats passed through, Eidelman and I talked in the waiting room, something possible only because the reception desks at Modern Animal are phoneless. As Eidelman points out: “If you get 100 to 200 phone calls a day as an average vet practice, how can you focus on the ten people in the lobby?”
In 2024, Modern Animal clocked 85% revenue growth year‑over‑year, reaching a $100 million run rate, the company said. Recently, Modern Animal raised $46 million in Series D funding, the company exclusively told Fortune. The round was led by Addition, Upfront Ventures, and True Ventures, with participation from Founders Fund. As the company’s been growing, Eidelman has been drawing inspiration from retail businesses, which seek to answer the same question that Modern Animal does: “How do you build an iconic brand business that ultimately lives in communities?” Retail’s a sector that Mark Suster, managing partner at Upfront Ventures, knows well.
“Steven and [Modern Animal COO] Ashley [Peterson Siegler] understand four-wall economics, which is what retail is called,” said Suster. “They understand how to provide great service, how to build a brand, and how to have consistency… Being good at running a business matters, and they’re excellent.”
Technology—especially AI—is also central to Modern Animal’s trajectory. “We’ve been entirely growing organically,” said Eidelman, noting that tech’s been a key driver. Modern Animal has its own software platform (called “Claude,” no relation to Anthropic) and has deployed AI-powered tools geared towards vets’ workflows. The company’s growth has been deliberate, building on existing markets. (Modern Animal currently operates 27 clinics across California, Texas, and Colorado.) AI applications have been an iterative process, with trial and error.
“To doctors, technology is a tool, just like a scalpel or a retractor is a tool,” said Keith Hackbarth, Modern Animal VP of engineering and the company’s first employee, via email. “If there’s any sense that quality of care could be compromised because of that tool, they will reject it.”
What’s perhaps most compelling about Modern Animal—and veterinary businesses as a whole—is that they’re kaleidoscopic. Vet clinics are at “the front lines of the economy,” said Eidelman. It’s a private equity-filled industry sensitive to inflation, healthcare pressures, consumer expectations, labor dynamics, and sweeping demographic trends around pet ownership.
In the end, Eidelman’s betting that the right mix of tech, people, and efficiency can help cut down vet burnout and ballooning vet bills, making people, pets, and vets healthier. “Most veterinarians are great,” he says. “It’s just that the system they operate in isn’t.”
See you tomorrow,
Allie Garfinkle
X: @agarfinks
Email: alexandra.garfinkle@fortune.com
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Venture Deals
- SEON, an Austin, Texas-based fraud prevention and anti-money laundering compliance platform, raised $80 million in Series C funding. Sixth Street Growth led the round and was joined by IVP, Creandum, Firebolt, and others.
- Remedio, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based cybersecurity company, raised $65 million in funding. Bessemer Venture Partners led the round and was joined by TLV Partners and Picture Capital.
- GreenLite, a New York City-based developer of an AI-powered plan review and compliance platform for construction permits, raised $49.5 million in Series B funding. Insight Partners led the round and was joined by Energize Capital and existing investors Craft Ventures, LiveOak Ventures, and Chicago Ventures.
- Rodatherm, a Salt Lake City, Utah-based geothermal power generation company, raised $38 million in Series A funding. Evok Innovations led the round and was joined by TDK Ventures, Toyota Ventures, TechEnergy Ventures, MCJ, and others.
- Terra Security, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based agentic AI-powered continuous penetration testing platform, raised $30 million in Series A funding. Felicis led the round and was joined by Dell Technology Capital and SVCI.
- Doctronic, a New York City-based personalized AI doctor platform, raised $20 million in Series A funding. Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round and was joined by Union Square Ventures, Tusk Ventures, Mantis VC, Seven Stars, and angel investors.
- Spara, a New York City-based enterprise-grade chat, email, and voice AI platform for go-to-market workflows, raised $15 million in seed funding. Radical Ventures and Inspired Capital led the round and were joined by XYZ Ventures, FJ Labs, Remarkable Ventures, and angel investors.
- DianaHR, a San Francisco-based HR services platform for small and medium-sized businesses, raised $3.7 million in seed funding. SNR Ventures led the round and was joined by General Catalyst, Y Combinator, and others.
Private Equity
- ATIS, a portfolio company of Thompson Street Capital Partners, acquired the U.S. elevator inspection business of Technical Inspection Agency, a North Las Vegas, Nev.-based elevator inspection company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Riverspan Partners acquired United Titanium, a Wooster, Ohio-based manufacturer of fasteners and precision components made from titanium, zirconium and other specialty metals. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Verlinvest acquired a majority stake in Boulders, a Copenhagen, Denmark-based chain of bouldering gyms. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Window Nation, backed by AEA, acquired NewSouth Window Solutions, a Tampa, Fla.-based impact-resistant window company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Funds + Funds Of Funds
- Veritas Capital, a New York City-based private equity firm, raised $14.4 billion for their ninth fund focused on companies providing tech products and services to government and companies.
People
- Cathay Innovation, a Paris, France-based venture capital firm, appointed Rose Yuan as a director and James Colgan as an operating partner. Previously, Yuan was with Generation Investment Management and Colgan was with Beyond the Build.ai.
- Menlo Ventures, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based venture capital firm, promoted Deedy Das to partner.
- QED Investors, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm, promoted Victoria Zuo to partner.