Leap Venture Studio, the pet care accelerator run by Mars Petcare and Michelson Found Animals, launched its tenth cohort on August 24 in Nashville and closes out the week of November 9 back in London, the city both UK selections call home.
Grub Club and Luna the Dental Vets are two of six startups chosen from Leap’s largest applicant pool yet, more than 300 companies from over 40 countries, each receiving $200,000 and a hybrid mentorship track built for early-stage founders.
Grub Club makes food and treats for dogs with sensitive stomachs, built from novel proteins that include insects, and Luna the Dental Vets runs affordable, dental-only vet clinics, a model aimed squarely at a diagnostic gap the industry has documented repeatedly.
A survey of 462 veterinary practitioners across five countries found periodontal disease is routinely underdiagnosed in dogs because confirming it typically requires anesthesia and imaging that many owners never book, let alone pay for on top of a general exam.
Both companies join a list of previous UK graduates that includes James and Ella, MI:RNA, Marleybones, Omni, Scooch, Moggie, Project Blu and THE PACK.
Leap is also bringing on TAW Ventures, founded by Jane Lauder, as its first new institutional partner since the program launched in 2018. TAW, however, isn’t a new face to Leap’s UK alumni. It led a £2.5 million round (€2.9 million) for Marleybones in late October, the dog food brand’s most recent raise since going through the accelerator itself.
Lauder’s firm invests specifically around pet longevity and health span rather than any single product category.
“What stood out across this cohort was how many founders are thinking about the full health span of a pet’s life, not just a single need. That kind of long-term thinking is key to building brands pet parents will trust for the long term. I’m looking forward to working alongside them,” said Lauder in a statement.
The UK remains the anchor of European pet tech investment even as the broader funding picture has gotten choppier. Pet tech funding globally is down nearly 54% so far in 2026, compared to the same period last year, according to Tracxn, which tracked $108 million USD (€93 million) raised across 14 rounds through July, against $234 million USD (€202 million) across 33 rounds in 2026.
In the UK, however, cumulative pet tech funding is strong at $266 million USD (€229 million) over the past decade, well ahead of Germany and France.
Leap’s own numbers cut against the slowdown narrative, at least for now. The accelerator has backed 57 companies since 2018 across 17 markets, and those companies have collectively raised more than $200 million in follow-on funding.
“Cohort 10 drew over 300 applications from more than 40 countries, the highest number we’ve ever seen,” said Rachel Sheppard, director of ventures at Mars Petcare.
“Cohort after cohort we’ve watched applications grow, and this year’s numbers reflect just how much founders want this kind of support. We’re proud that this program was built to support exactly the kind of compassionate innovation these startups bring to pet care and are eager to jump in soon,” added Phillip Kim, executive director at Michelson Philanthropies.
The cohort’s Impact Seat, reserved for a company judged on its contribution to the pet care ecosystem rather than growth, went to California-based myBalto Foundation, which builds dedicated fundraising accounts for veterinary hospitals to help cover treatment for owners who can’t afford it.
And, beyond the UK, Leap also selected the following startups:
- Miami-based Wynwood, offering fresh whole-food nutrition for dogs, prescribed and recommended by veterinarians.
- Massachusetts-headquartered LymeAlert, bringing lab-quality Lyme disease testing anywhere with a kit that tests the tick itself and gives results within 15 minutes.
- NanosVet, a Delaware startup redesigning pet medicine with nanofiber technology to make treatment easier, faster, and less stressful for pets and their owners.
- Toronto’s SoluPet, the maker of “Neuronal Defense™, the first pet supplement with a science-backed formula shown to support cognition and brain health in aging dogs.
Featured image: Leap Venture Studio cohort 9, courtesy of Michelson Found Animals
Disclosure: This article mentions a client of an Espacio portfolio company.
