Dr. Paws raises Rs 29.3 cr from Chiratae Ventures, others to scale vet clinic network

Dr. Paws founders (L) Rakesh Santhapur and (R) Udit Gadkary

Bengaluru-based veterinary clinic chain Dr. Paws has raised Rs 29.3 crore in a Pre-Series A funding round, led by Chiratae Ventures, as the company looks to scale its physical clinic network beyond Bengaluru and expand into at-home veterinary services.

The round comprises Rs 21.5 crore in equity and Rs 8–8.5 crore in venture debt, with participation from existing backer Sauce, and debt financing from Trifecta Capital and Stride Ventures. The company is valued at around Rs 105 crore, co-founder Udit Gadkary told Moneycontrol.

Founded by Gadkary and Rakesh Santhapur, the company currently operates three 24x7 veterinary clinics in Bengaluru, HSR, Indiranagar and Sanjaynagar, and is setting up two more centres, which will take its total to five clinics in the city by the end of this year. It has completed over 30,000 appointments and 800 surgeries since launch.

According to Gadkary, a key driver behind the fundraise was the company’s clinic-level unit economics. Dr. Paws’ clinics achieve operational profitability within five months.

“A big use of funds will be building more clinics and expanding our footprint. We will also invest in building out our management team, bring in a lot of tech into the company, and invest in new verticals like at-home care,” he said.

Each Dr. Paws clinic operates round the clock, increasing staffing intensity and fixed costs but allowing higher asset utilisation.

Dr. Paws plans to expand its clinic network beyond Bengaluru, with the fresh capital earmarked primarily for physical expansion as well as team building and technology investments.

The company plans to add nine new clinics by 2026 and will enter new markets, including Hyderabad and Pune.

“Our vision is to become India’s most trusted brand for pet parents. If we execute that well, we can scale nationwide,” Gadkary said.

Alongside clinics, Dr. Paws plans to launch at-home veterinary services, adding a new revenue stream beyond its physical centres.

“Clinics will always be our core business, but at-home care will become an important additional vertical,” Gadkary added.

The company is positioning itself as a full-stack pet-care platform, combining clinical services with at-home care under a single brand.

As organised players scale across India’s fragmented veterinary services market, Dr. Paws is positioning itself around trust-led clinical decision-making as its core differentiation.

“Our doctors have zero targets or incentives for revenue. That means there is no pressure to push unnecessary tests or surgeries. Trust and clinical integrity are at the centre of our model,” he said.

Dr. Paws currently has around 110 employees, of which 15–16 are based at the headquarters, and about 95 are clinic staff, including personnel already hired for the two upcoming centres.

However, hiring and retaining veterinarians remains its biggest operational constraint, the founder said, reflecting a broader shortage of trained vets in India.

“This is a doctor-heavy business, and you’re only as good as your doctors. Retention is even harder than hiring as you scale,” Gadkary said.

India’s pet-care sector is expanding rapidly, driven by rising urban pet ownership and increasing spending on preventive veterinary care. However, veterinary services remain highly fragmented, with limited organised penetration and uneven quality standards.

Investors say Dr. Paws stood out for its combination of clinical quality, execution discipline and customer trust.

“Trust is the cornerstone of pet healthcare. The founders combine empathy with strong operational rigour and clinical quality focus,” said Anoop Menon, Consumer Tech Lead at Chiratae Ventures.

Sauce founder Manu Chandra said organised veterinary healthcare remains underpenetrated despite rising demand. “Udit and Rakesh are building a conscious, empathy-first veterinary business focused on quality above all,” he said.

Despite rising investor interest in consolidation across pet care, Dr. Paws is not currently pursuing acquisitions and remains focused on company-owned, company-operated clinics.

“It’s too early for us to comment on consolidation. Our focus is on building our own clinics and at-home care the right way,” Gadkary said.

With clinic-level profitability achieved in five months, a capital-intensive expansion plan underway, and at-home services set to launch alongside an aggressive clinic rollout, Dr. Paws is entering its next phase of growth amid rising investor interest in India’s still-fragmented veterinary services market.

How efficiently it scales across cities while maintaining doctor quality, culture, and unit economics will determine whether it can transition from a Bengaluru-first operator into a national, organised vet-care platform.