In the ever-escalating war for talent, employee perks have become strategic weapons. From unlimited PTO to fertility benefits, employers are constantly redefining the modern benefits package to match evolving employee values.
The latest addition to the employee wellness bench? On-demand telehealth for pets.
And it’s not just for tech startups or pet industry players. From Fortune 500 corporations to midsize firms, more companies are beginning to cover virtual veterinary consultations as part of employee wellness initiatives. Why? Because happy pets, as it turns out, make for happier, more focused employees.
“Almost half of pets in this country won’t even see a vet this year,” Brandon Werber, CEO and founder at Airvet, told PYMNTS’ Karen Webster. “With Airvet, pets go five or six times more. They’re more comfortable at home. It’s easier. It’s stress-free.”
Webster, a longtime pet owner herself, empathized: “I had so many emergency encounters… the idea of creating an employee benefit around pet telehealth is quite unusual.”
But that unusual idea is working. Airvet’s network supports hundreds of thousands of visits annually. About 70% to 80% of cases are resolved entirely virtually, without requiring follow-up care.
“Ninety-one percent of people who said they would’ve otherwise gone to the ER in-person, avoided it altogether,” said Werber, adding that that impact isn’t just financial — it’s emotional. “It’s stressful for the pet. It’s stressful for the parent. And it clogs up wait times for true emergencies.”
A Win-Win for Employers and Employees
Airvet’s origin story, like many in digital health, is deeply personal.
“Carlos was the inspiration,” Werber said, referencing his own pet and the emotional urgency that often surrounds pet care. His mission is grounded in the realities every pet owner faces — uncertainty, stress and often an overwhelming lack of access.
The company has rapidly grown from a direct-to-consumer (D2C) startup into a robust B2B model backed by major enterprises like Adobe, PepsiCo and more. The catalyst for this shift? A pressing need for broader veterinary access, coupled with an underutilized employee benefit space.
As Werber put it, “It came down to a matter of need and opportunity to service and help even more pet owners than we could if we were direct to consumer.”
Why the surge in use? Simple: unlike humans, pets can’t tell us how they feel.
“Our threshold to require an expert is so much lower,” Werber noted. “We don’t know how much pain they’re in. We don’t know if it’s an emergency… Teladoc had between 1 and 3% utilization in year one as a new benefit; we finished our first year with Synchrony Financial, for example, at over 35% utilization — ten times higher than human telehealth.
“People use it more for their pets than they do for themselves,” Webster said. “Sometimes you just need to talk to someone who can say that it’s okay about that one little question you have.”
And unlike most human telehealth platforms, pet telehealth can be immediate. That immediacy, coupled with 24/7 availability, changes the paradigm from reactive to proactive care.
“Our average wait time is 15 seconds,” said Werber. “You tap a button and you’re FaceTiming with a doctor in less than a minute.”
From Point Solution to Petcare Platform
Airvet’s recent Series B funding round — an oversubscribed $11 million — will go toward global expansion. Airvet now offers discounted pet insurance options from multiple providers, pharmacy benefits with home delivery, food discounts and even backup care.
“We just launched in India and Canada,” Werber said. “So many of our employers are global — PepsiCo has 140,000 employees in the U.S., but another 200,000 globally. They want access everywhere.”
And for employees who leave a company, there’s a COBRA-like option: “They can finish out the month free and get a discounted rate to continue,” he added.
A key innovation is how Airvet is funded and delivered. The goal isn’t to replace traditional care but to support it. After all, while pet insurance has existed for years, it often excludes preexisting conditions, comes with high premiums and doesn’t cover general advice or wellness questions. Telehealth can work to bridge that gap.
“There are no copays, no deductibles, no premiums, no limits — 10 pets, any species, any condition, zero exclusions,” Werber explained, noting that it’s an offering that starkly contrasts with traditional pet insurance, which often excludes pets based on age or species. “20% of pets in the country are not cats and dogs. 30% are over eight years old. That’s 50% of the workforce that can’t even get a policy.”
The emotional support aspect of pet ownership can’t be overstated, and pet telehealth platforms are helping employers meet it head-on, tail wags, late-night vomit and all.
“This is the first line of defense,” said Werber. “It used to be Google. Now, it’s us.”
