US-based Rover, an online community connecting dog owners with sitters, closed a $25m series E round yesterday backed by investors including pet supplies retailer Petco.
The round was led by venture capital firm Technology Crossover Ventures and also included Foundry Group, Madrona Venture Group and Menlo Ventures.
Rover raised an undisclosed amount in November 2014 from A-Grade Investments, the venture capital fund founded by actor Ashton Kutcher, rock and pop artist manager Guy Oseary and business magnate Ron Burkle.
Prior to the November 2014 round, the company had raised $25.9m in funding since 2012, with Petco participating in a $12m series C round in March 2014 and a $3.5m round the year before.
CrunchFund, the VC frm backed by media group AOL, has also invested in the company, participating in a $3.4m round in 2012.
Rover operates a network that provides dog owners across the US with verified and use- reviewed sitters. Its service includes overnight boarding, pet and sitter insurance, on-call veterinarians, dog walking and in-home daycare.
To date, the company has connected more than 40,000 sitters with dog owners across some 10,000 cities in the US. Rover has also doubled its employee head count to 80 over the past year.
– Image courtesy of Rover.com