What Pawscout does

Pawscout is a consumer pet technology company founded in 2016 and headquartered in San Francisco, focused on helping pet owners recover lost cats and dogs. The company's flagship product is a free mobile app that, combined with physical pet tags, enables anyone who encounters a lost pet to scan the tag and instantly reach the owner. The platform serves approximately one million users across the United States and Canada, with reported user growth of around 3,646 new users per week. The app has been featured in Forbes, Wired, and a Super Bowl commercial, and the company has been associated with public-figure endorsements including Denise Richards.

The core technology stack combines Bluetooth proximity detection on a dedicated Bluetooth Tag (priced at $19.95) with QR-code identification on a simpler QR Tag (priced at $9.95). The free app stores pet profiles, medical information, and owner contact details; when a tag is scanned by any user in the network, the finder is connected to the owner without requiring an account. Pawscout Pro, the subscription tier, adds features such as instant alerts, nationwide lost-pet poster generation, and expanded profile capabilities for $0.99/month or $9.99/year. The Pawscout for Shelters program distributes free QR tags through adoption events, using shelter partnerships as a network seeding mechanism.

The business model is a freemium hardware-plus-subscription construct. Revenue is generated primarily through direct-to-consumer sales of Bluetooth and QR tags and through Pawscout Pro recurring subscriptions. Distribution has been online-direct and through shelter partnerships, with early-stage exploration of bulk/corporate sales and retail/reseller channels. Headcount is in the 11-50 range, the company is privately held, and the only disclosed funding event is a $3M round from Leadout Capital in June 2019.

Name

Pawscout

Legal name

Pawscout, Inc.

Website

https://pawscout.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pawscout is a mobile pet safety platform serving cat and dog owners across the US and Canada with a free app, Bluetooth and QR pet tags, and an optional subscription for enhanced lost-pet recovery features.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pet Safety Technology

akta.pro primary industry

Remote Monitoring & Connected Pet Care (Wearables, IoT, Chronic Care Programs) (HLAMAGAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Pet Care & Consumer Tracking IoT (Feeders, Pet Doors, GPS Trackers) (HSAPAQAL)

Keywords

• Pet tracking technology
• Lost pet recovery
• Smart pet tags
• Pet safety network
• Community pet finder

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Hardware Sales: Sale of physical pet tags (PawscoutQR Tag at $9.95 and Bluetooth Tag at $19.95) along with accessories (custom nameplates, battery packs, bundles). One-time purchase model for hardware with no ongoing subscription required for basic functionality.
2. Pawscout Pro Subscription: Monthly subscription at $0.99/month or annual subscription at $9.99/year (25% savings). Subscription unlocks premium features including SMS/text alerts, boosted lost pet posts, scan history, tag safety check, priority support, and unlimited guardians/pet parents.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Pawscout is a mobile-application and smart-tag ecosystem that helps pet owners prevent, locate, and recover lost pets. The free Pawscout App enables community-based lost pet alerts broadcast within a 5-mile radius, walk tracking, and a pet social network. The company sells Bluetooth-enabled and QR-code smart tags (priced at $9.95 and $19.95) and offers a premium subscription (Pawscout Pro) with SMS alerts, boosted lost pet posts, scan history, and additional safety features.

Product overview

Pawscout offers a pet safety ecosystem consisting of a free mobile app as the core platform, complemented by hardware tags (Bluetooth Tag at $19.95 and QR Tag at $9.95) and a premium subscription service (Pawscout Pro). The hardware tags communicate with the app via Bluetooth or QR scanning, enabling features like lost pet alerts, walk tracking, virtual pet leash, and community-based pet finding. Accessories include custom nameplates, bundles, and replacement batteries. A dedicated shelter portal extends the network to animal shelters for lost pet reunification.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pawscout App Free mobile application (iOS and Android) serving as the core platform for Pawscout's pet safety network. Enables lost pet alert broadcasting within a 5-mile radius, community pet finding, walk tracking, pet social network, virtual pet leash, and playdate scheduling for pet owners.
• Pawscout Bluetooth Tag Bluetooth-enabled, IPX7 water-resistant smart pet tag priced at $19.95 for cats and dogs. Communicates with the Pawscout App and other Pawscouters' phones with a 300-foot outdoor range, supporting walk tracking, virtual pet leash, and community-driven lost pet alerts.
• PawscoutQR Tag Small, lightweight, battery-free, waterproof QR code-based pet tag priced at $9.95. Relies on the Pawscout App and community scanning for pet identification and recovery without requiring batteries or charging.
• Pawscout Pro Premium subscription service priced at $0.99/month or $9.99/year that unlocks additional safety features including SMS/text alerts, boosted lost pet posts, scan history, tag safety check, pet documents storage, priority support, and unlimited guardians.
• Custom Nameplate Customizable nameplate accessory available in various designs with contact details, priced at $9.95, designed to attach to the Pawscout Bluetooth Tag.
• Tag & Nameplate Bundle Bundle combining the Pawscout Bluetooth Smarter Pet Tag with a customized nameplate, priced at $25.00.
• Battery 2-Pack Replacement CR2032 battery 2-pack for the Pawscout Bluetooth Tag, priced at $4.99.
• Pawscout for Shelters Shelter portal that enables animal shelters to broadcast lost and found pet flyers to the Pawscout community without downloading the app, helping reunite lost and stray pets with their owners.

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Tractive: Tractive offers GPS pet trackers with real-time location and worldwide coverage via subscription. It is one of the most globally distributed competitors in the pet tracker space and competes for the same lost pet recovery outcome as Pawscout, with a stronger geographic footprint (Europe-heavy).
• Fi: Fi is a direct competitor offering GPS-enabled smart dog collars with cellular tracking and subscription-based service. It targets the same pet safety/lost pet recovery use case as Pawscout but differentiates through real-time GPS over cellular networks rather than Bluetooth proximity, and competes for the same pet owner wallet.
• Whistle (Mars Petcare): Whistle is a direct competitor offering GPS pet trackers attached to collars, providing location tracking, health monitoring, and activity insights via subscription. Acquired by Mars Petcare, it has substantially more distribution and capital than Pawscout and competes head-to-head for the pet safety category.
• Link AKC: Link AKC was a GPS smart collar brand offering location tracking, activity monitoring, and temperature alerts for dogs. It competed in the same premium pet tracker category as Pawscout's Bluetooth tag and was eventually acquired, illustrating the consolidation pressure in this space.

Emerging players

• Petcube: Petcube offers connected pet cameras and interactive devices for remote pet monitoring and engagement. While not a direct location-tracking competitor, it is adjacent in the connected pet care IoT category and competes for the same pet tech consumer wallet.
• PetPace: PetPace offers a smart collar focused on pet health monitoring (vitals, behavior, pain) rather than location tracking. It is a partial overlap peer addressing connected pet care with a more clinical/health angle compared to Pawscout's safety/identification focus.

Regional players

• Pawtrack: Pawtrack offers a GPS cat collar with cellular tracking via subscription, primarily serving the UK and European markets. It competes in the same lost pet recovery category as Pawscout but in different geographies, making it a regional rather than direct US competitor.

Broad incumbents

• Apple AirTag: Apple AirTag is a broad incumbent in consumer tracking IoT that uses the Find My network of nearly a billion Apple devices. While not pet-specific, many pet owners use AirTags as a low-cost pet tracker alternative, posing competitive risk to Pawscout's Bluetooth tag category given AirTag's larger network and brand.
• Tile: Tile is a consumer Bluetooth tracker brand with a community-based finding network comparable to Pawscout's approach. While not pet-specific, Tile addresses the same core tracking use case and competes for the "track my stuff/pet" consumer wallet with a much larger installed base.
• Garmin (GPS pet tracking): Garmin offers GPS pet tracking devices (e.g., Astro and Alpha series) primarily for hunting and working dogs. It is a broad incumbent in the GPS tracking market with deep R&D and brand authority, and competes for the high-end outdoor/working pet owner segment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pawscouttag

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Pawscout