FluentPet, the company that is pioneering better communication between humans and their animals through recordable sound buttons, announces its selection as the Grand Prize winner in Purina’s 2022 Pet Care Innovation (PCI) Award’s pitch competition at this year’s Global Pet Expo in Orlando, Florida.
Awarded to early-stage companies that are defining the future of pet care, the PCI Award recognizes novel products and services that provide meaningful solutions to enrich the lives of nonhuman companions. In January, FluentPet and four other winners, including Bright Planet Pet, Paway, QSM Diagnostics and uPetsia, were selected from more than 120 companies in the first round, each receiving $10,000 to scale their businesses. All five companies participated in a bootcamp accelerator experience at Purina’s headquarters earlier this month with business experts, veterinarians and leaders in the industry to strengthen their business plan and network across the industry.
FluentPet was awarded the additional $10,000 Grand Prize by a panel of judges consisting of investors, industry experts and executives from Purina’s 9 Square Ventures division.
FluentPet received recognition for being one of the most outstanding companies, services and products within the rapidly evolving pet industry. Launched in 2020, FluentPet uses cognitive science and academic research to make teaching, learning and communicating easier for pets and their people. The company has generated over $7 million in revenue since videos showing dogs learning to use FluentPet’s “talking” buttons went viral online. The FluentPet button collection is a language and learning system that enables people to teach dogs and cats to express themselves by pressing programmable sound-emitting buttons mounted on a board of interlocking HexTiles.
“These past few months working with the Purina’s 2022 Class have been an invaluable experience for us and our company,” says CEO Leo Trottier. “We thank everyone who has helped us get here – our researchers, our guides, friends and family. We look forward to working with everyone to continue pushing the boundaries of what interspecies communication is and can be for us and our animal companions.”
Later this year FluentPet’s newest product line, the FluentPet Connect, adds the ability for users to receive “texts” from their dogs or cats and offers the ability to track and record progress in real-time. With the upgraded design, audio and overall functionality, FluentPet Connect represents the next phase in the company’s quest to bridge the interspecies communication gap.
The FluentPet Connect Base HexTile can be reserved here and will begin shipping later this year. To learn more about the FluentPet product line, visit www.fluent.pet.