What Roo does

Roo (legal entity Roo Veterinary, Inc.) is a Delaware-incorporated, San Francisco-headquartered online two-sided marketplace that connects veterinary professionals (DVMs, vet technicians/assistants, and students) with animal hospitals for temporary relief shifts and permanent placement. Founded in 2018 by Lisa Hu (CEO) and David Strauss, the company has built the largest U.S. veterinary relief network with 20,000+ vet professionals, 9,000+ hospitals, 2M+ hours of cumulative relief coverage, and $200M+ paid out to vets through the platform. The core technology is delivered via a web application at roo.vet and native iOS/Android apps, offering map-based shift search, profile/ratings/reviews, background and license verification, in-app messaging, automated direct-deposit payments (within two business days), automatic mileage tracking, consolidated W-2 and 1099-NEC tax infrastructure, and a proprietary Relief-to-Hire™ matching workflow that lets hospitals and candidates trial each other on real shifts before committing to permanent hire.

The product surface has expanded beyond the core relief marketplace into adjacent verticals: Roo Uni (launched August 2025) is the first centralized national veterinary externship platform with 800+ sites in 47 states; Roo CE delivers free RACE-approved continuing education via on-demand courses, webinars, and award-winning in-person events; and Roo4You is a content and resources hub including a lead-capture salary calculator. Roo's revenue model is transaction-based: hospitals post unlimited shifts for free and are charged only when a relief professional is confirmed (payment processed 72 hours before the shift, with quoted prices between $1,116-$1,759 per shift); one-time industry-standard placement fees apply on Relief-to-Hire conversions; and vets/techs join for free with no membership fees or minimums. Strategic partnerships with AVMA PLIT, Fear Free, NOMV, PrideVMC, dvm360, and Stride Health extend the platform's value proposition, while a separate enterprise sales motion ([email protected]) serves multi-location hospital groups alongside the dominant self-serve PLG funnel and a heavy in-person community distribution layer (Happy Hours in 30+ cities, Hoppy Hours at VMX/WVC/VHMA). The company has raised ~$16.65M across a 2021 seed ($5.65M, Floodgate) and a 2022 Series A ($11M, led by Jackson Square Ventures with AirAngels and Floodgate), and currently employs 101-250 people.

Name

Roo

Legal name

Roo Veterinary, Inc.

Website

https://roo.vet

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Roo is the largest U.S. online two-sided marketplace connecting veterinarians, vet technicians, and students with animal hospitals for temporary relief shifts and permanent placement, serving 20,000+ professionals and 9,000+ hospitals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Veterinary Relief Staffing Marketplace

NAICS

Veterinary Services (54194)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Veterinary Practice Management Software (PIMS/EMR, Scheduling, Billing) (HLAMAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Client Engagement & CRM Platforms (Reminders, Messaging, Loyalty, Reviews) (HLAMAGAC), Multi-site/Corporate Group Operations Platforms (Franchise/MSO Tools, Standardization) (HLAMAGAM)

Keywords

• Veterinary relief staffing
• Vet professional marketplace
• Animal hospital staffing
• Veterinary externships
• Veterinary job placement

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Hospital Relief Shift Fees: Hospitals post unlimited shifts for free and are only charged when they confirm a relief professional. Shift prices are market-based, varying by hospital location, type of veterinary work, and shift length. Payment is processed automatically 72 hours before the shift. Hospitals can also pay for Boosted Shifts (often double the standard rate) for urgent coverage.
2. Relief-to-Hire Placement Fees: When a hospital successfully hires a relief vet or tech through the Relief-to-Hire process, Roo charges a one-time industry-standard placement fee. No retainer or upfront fee is required. There is no placement fee for students hired through Roo Uni externships.
3. Event Sponsorship / Co-Marketing Revenue (Inferred): Roo hosts a large volume of free CE webinars, in-person CE events, and Happy Hours, often in partnership with industry organizations. While the platform is free for individual vets/techs, Roo's scale of events implies sponsor/co-marketing relationships that support the community-led GTM motion.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Roo operates a two-sided online marketplace that connects veterinary professionals (veterinarians, vet techs, and assistants) with animal hospitals for temporary relief shifts, part-time or full-time permanent placement via Relief-to-Hire, and veterinary student externships via Roo Uni. The platform is delivered as a web application and native iOS/Android apps and handles end-to-end the matching, scheduling, W-2/1099 payroll, direct deposit, mileage tracking, tax documentation, and placement fees. Hospitals are charged per confirmed shift and on successful permanent hires; vet professionals join free.

Product overview

Roo is a single integrated SaaS marketplace platform — not a multi-product suite of separate acquisitions — that connects veterinary professionals (veterinarians, vet techs/assistants, and students) with animal hospitals for relief shifts and part or full-time placement. The core platform is the Roo Relief Platform, exposed through a web application and native mobile apps (iOS/Android), with three primary audience-specific modules: Roo for Veterinarians, Roo for Vet Techs & Assistants, and Roo for Hospitals. Sitting on top of that core, Roo offers Roo Uni, a free externship marketplace with paired vet-student (Roo for Vet Students) and hospital-side (Host Externships) experiences, and the Relief-to-Hire™ module for permanent placement. Supporting offerings include Roo CE (free RACE-approved continuing education via on-demand courses, webinars, and in-person events), Roo4You resources and blog, and the Roo Community Events program (webinars and Happy Hours). Roo's W-2 independent contractor payment, direct-deposit, mileage tracking, and 1099 infrastructure run underneath all of these products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Roo Uni: First-ever national externship platform for veterinary students, connecting students with animal hospitals for hands-on clinical experience.
• Roo4You

Products and services

• Roo Relief Platform The flagship two-sided online marketplace that connects over 20,000 veterinarians and veterinary technicians with over 9,000 animal hospitals for temporary relief shifts. Hospitals post shifts for free and are only charged when a relief professional confirms a shift, with payment processed 72 hours before the shift. Vets keep 100% of displayed shift pay and have cumulatively earned over $200 million.
• Roo Uni Industry-first centralized national externship platform allowing veterinary students at AVMA-accredited schools to search and apply directly to externships at over 800 animal hospitals across 47 states. Includes resume hosting, application workflow, and free hosting with no fees or revenue share. Targets the ~4,000 U.S. vet students graduating annually.
• Roo Relief-to-Hire Proprietary career-placement workflow that lets job-seeking veterinarians/vet techs and hiring hospitals find a fit through real relief-shift experience before committing to part or full-time employment. Includes a one-time industry-standard placement fee on successful hires; no retainer or upfront fee.
• Roo CE (Continuing Education) Free RACE-approved continuing education library for the veterinary community, including on-demand courses, live webinars, and award-winning in-person events at venues such as zoos and stadiums. Topics include CPR, feline medicine, ophthalmic emergencies, trauma triage, and wound management.
• Roo Mobile App Companion mobile app for the Roo Relief Platform, available on the Apple App Store (id1566884935) and Google Play (com.roomobile.prod). Provides map-view shift search, push messaging, earnings tracking, and shift management for veterinarians, vet techs, and hospitals.

Quantifiable outcome

• Roo Relief Veterinarians earn nearly 2x the average hourly rate of associate vets
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• AVMA PLITflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerAVMA PLIT (Professional Liability Insurance Trust) is a 'Friend of Roo' and core strategic partner. Roo offers AVMA PLIT professional liability and license defense plans to its vets and vet techs at affordable rates — described as 'less than half of what you'll make working just one shift'. Plans are integrated into Roo's resource center and pitched directly on the vet and tech resource pages.
• dvm360coreGTM or Marketing Partnerdvm360 is listed as a Strategic Alliance Partner of Roo, with Roo's logo featured in dvm360's partner directory. dvm360 provides industry conferences (Fetch) and content; Roo Relief Veterinarians and Technicians receive discounts on dvm360 Fetch Conferences through this partnership.
• Fear FreecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRoo is a 'Proud supporter of Fear Free'. The partnership enables Roo vets to display Fear Free certification on their profile, allows hospitals to filter/search for Fear Free Certified Veterinary Practices, and offers Roo Relief Veterinarians and Technicians discounts on Fear Free certification courses.
• Not One More Vet (NOMV)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRoo is a 'Proud supporter of NOMV' and runs a co-branded 'Roo x NOMV: How CLEAR Elevates Clinic Culture' initiative. Roo offers hospital customers a 10% off promo code 'ROO26' for NOMV's CLEAR Blueprint clinic wellness certification, and promotes the program across hospital resources.
• PrideVMCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRoo is a 'Proud supporter of PrideVMC' (Pride Veterinary Medical Community). Logo featured in Roo's 'Friends of Roo' section, signaling alignment with and support for the LGBTQ+ veterinary community.
• Stride HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRoo has partnered with Stride Health to provide health, dental, vision, and life insurance coverage to its veterinary professionals at competitive rates. The Stride Health platform is accessible from Roo's Vet & Tech Resources page under Healthcare & Benefits.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Vetcove: B2B procurement marketplace for veterinary practices; serves the same hospital buyer persona as Roo and represents a parallel 'must-have' platform play in the vet vertical.
• PetDesk: Veterinary practice engagement and operations platform; an adjacent software vendor whose hospital customer base overlaps with Roo and that could expand into staffing features.
• ezyVet: Veterinary practice management software used by hospitals that also post on Roo; an ecosystem enabler whose client base overlaps with Roo's hospital customers and that could integrate or compete with relief scheduling.

Direct peers

• Bridge Club: Veterinary-specific talent marketplace connecting vet professionals with practices, directly competing with Roo for the same two-sided marketplace dynamics in the U.S. veterinary staffing category.
• HireVet Solutions: Veterinary-focused staffing and recruiting platform that places relief and permanent vets/techs, offering a comparable service model to Roo's relief and Relief-to-Hire offerings.

Broad incumbents

• Indeed: Generalist job marketplace that lists a large volume of veterinary roles and relief shifts; serves the same buyer (vet hospitals) and supplier (vets) but without vertical specialization.
• ZipRecruiter: Major general-purpose employment marketplace frequently used by veterinary practices to post permanent and relief positions, representing the default non-vertical alternative to Roo.

Emerging players

• BetterVet: Mobile and in-home veterinary care provider that hires vets and techs directly; competes for the same vet labor pool and is a potential insourcing threat to Roo.
• Modern Animal: Vertically integrated veterinary care chain building its own clinical workforce and staffing infrastructure; competes indirectly by absorbing demand that might otherwise flow to Roo.
• Vetster: Veterinary telehealth marketplace connecting pet owners with licensed vets; addresses an adjacent use case for the same vet supply pool and could expand into in-person relief over time.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/roo_vet
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCY3U6phSfM6czZI6d-VEDmg
• Facebookfacebook.com/roodotvet
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/roovets
• Instagraminstagram.com/roodotvet
• TikToktiktok.com/@roodotvet

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Roo