OAKLAND, Calif. — AnimalBiome, a biotechnology startup exploring how to optimize gut health in pets, recently received $1.5 million during a seed funding round, which the company will use to fund further gut health research and advance the development of restoration supplements for dogs and cats.

This latest round of investments brings AnimalBiome’s total seed funding amount to $2.25 million.

"With the support of our investors, we’re accelerating developments of our products and will continue to provide pet parents with revolutionary science to boost pet health, happiness and longevity by improving their microbiomes,” said Holly Ganz, Ph.D., chief science officer of AnimalBiome.

These products include gut health tests, which provide insight into the gut health of pets and allow AnimalBiome to develop personalized diet, nutrition and lifestyle recommendations.

AnimalBiome also offers DoggyBiome and KittyBiome restoration supplements, which support solid bowel movements and help to maintain normal stools, sooth the intestinal tract, and are fast-acting and gentle on dogs and cats.

The company bases its products and nutritional recommendations on “genetic sequencing of bacteria in the microbiome of companion animals,” the company says.  

In addition to the funding, Gantz has stepped out of her previous role of CEO to take on her new position as chief science officer. Carlton Osborne, JD, previous president of the company, has been named new CEO. 

Osborne brings more than 15 years of startup and business development experience to his new leading role. “AnimalBiome is uniquely positioned to harness the potential of the microbiome to deliver personalized nutrition products and services for dogs and cats,” he said.

Gantz commented, “We’re very excited to see what the future holds for AnimalBiome, especially with Carlton as our new CEO. We feel confident his leadership skills and business expertise will continue to follow our mission and achieve our company goals. And this will allow me to focus on developing better ways to use the microbiome to monitor and improve the health of dogs and cats.”

AnimalBiome participated in the 2018 Purina Pet Care Innovation Prize program, the 2018 Leap Venture Studio program, and in Purina’s inaugural Pet Care Innovation Summit in October 2019. The company was founded by researchers at the University of California-Davis and Berkeley in 2016.

Read more about product development, ingredients and formulation.