Vence
Vence, a Merck Animal Health subsidiary founded in 2016 in San Diego, builds a virtual-fencing livestock management system using GPS/RF collars and cloud software, sold to cattle ranchers in the US, Australia, and pilots in New Zealand and Canada.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersSan Diego, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Vence does
Vence, founded in 2016 and headquartered in San Diego, builds a virtual-fencing livestock management system for cattle ranchers. Its core technology is an IoT platform comprising GPS- and radio-frequency-equipped collars worn by cattle, strategically placed base stations that cover 5,000–10,000 acres each, and cloud-based software that lets ranchers create, redraw, and manage virtual boundaries for rotational grazing and environmental protection. The collars use humane audio cues paired with animal-safe electrical pulses to train cattle to respect virtual boundaries. The system is sold commercially in the United States and Australia, with pilot programs in New Zealand and Canada.
Vence monetizes through a combination of hardware sales (GPS/RF collars) and ongoing cloud-software subscriptions; pricing is not publicly disclosed and is quoted through direct sales engagement. Under Merck Animal Health ownership (acquired in 2025), the product is distributed as part of the SenseHub technology family via Merck's enterprise field-sales organization targeting cattle producers and ranchers, alongside integration with Merck's broader animal-health portfolio (SenseHub, ALLFLEX, BRAVECTO). The company also holds a registered Vence trademark.
Vence is led by a small team (11–50 employees) and was additionally funded in part by an NSF SBIR Phase I grant supporting machine-learning-enabled livestock health monitoring on top of its IoT platform. The company's customer segments are cattle ranchers and livestock producers (primary) and sustainable-agriculture operations focused on rotational grazing, soil health, and protection of environmentally sensitive areas (secondary). Cofounder Frank Wooten departed in September 2025 to lead ArkeaBio, an adjacent livestock-methane-vaccine startup.
Vence firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Vence
- Legal name
- VENCE CORP
- Website
- https://vence.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Vence, a Merck Animal Health subsidiary founded in 2016 in San Diego, builds a virtual-fencing livestock management system using GPS/RF collars and cloud software, sold to cattle ranchers in the US, Australia, and pilots in New Zealand and Canada.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Vence industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Precision Livestock Technology
- NAICS
- Support Activities for Animal Production (115210), Beef Cattle Ranching and Farming, including Feedlots (11211)
- SIC
- Agricultural Prod-Livestock & Animal Specialties (200), Agricultural Services (700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Livestock Precision Monitoring Software (Herd/Flock Analytics, Health Alerts) (AFAAAFAM)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Beef Cattle Production Support Services (Fencing, Water Systems, Range Improvement) (AFAEABAM), Cattle Health & Processing Services (Branding, Vaccination, Pregnancy Checking) (AFAEABAL), Multi-site/Corporate Group Operations Platforms (Franchise/MSO Tools, Standardization) (HLAMAGAM)
Keywords
Where Vence is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Diego
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Vence business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations
Revenue model
- Virtual Fencing Hardware (Collars): Sale of physical collars containing GPS and RF transceivers that cattle wear. Each collar contains the technology to receive boundary signals and deliver audio/electrical cues.
- Cloud-Based Software Subscription: Ongoing software subscription for the virtual fencing platform that manages herd movement, monitors location data, and enables ranchers to create and adjust virtual boundaries remotely.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Monthly | Contact sales for pricing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Vence product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Vence sells an integrated virtual fencing system for cattle ranchers and livestock producers, consisting of GPS- and RF-enabled animal collars, ranch-deployed base stations, and a cloud-based software subscription that lets ranchers draw and redraw virtual pasture boundaries. The collars deliver audio cues and humane electric pulses to keep cattle within designated zones, enabling rotational grazing, real-time location monitoring, and protection of environmentally sensitive areas without physical fences.
Product overview
Vence is a single unified product offering — a virtual fencing livestock management system for cattle. The system consists of GPS and radio frequency (RF) enabled collars worn by cattle, cloud-based software for managing virtual boundaries, and strategically placed base stations that cover 5,000-10,000 acres. The product enables ranchers to control cattle movement, implement rotational grazing, protect environmentally sensitive areas, and monitor animal location and activity in real-time.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- SenseHub Vence Virtual Fencing System
Companies that use Vence
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Vence technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Vence partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and flagship.
- ArkeaBiominorArkeaBio, a startup developing vaccines for livestock methane reduction, hired Frank Wooten, a Vence cofounder, as CEO. This represents talent mobility from Vence to a related agricultural technology company.
- Merck Animal HealthflagshipVence operates as a subsidiary/brand of Merck Animal Health, part of the SenseHub technology family. Merck Animal Health provides global distribution, brand credibility, and R&D resources for the virtual fencing technology.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Vence competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Agersens / eShepherd: eShepherd is an Australian virtual-fencing system (spun from CSIRO research) that uses solar-powered cattle collars to create GPS boundaries for rotational grazing, directly competing with Vence in Australia and adjacent markets.
- Halter: Halter is a New Zealand-based startup that offers GPS-enabled smart collars and a software platform for virtual fencing and rotational grazing of dairy and beef cattle — directly competing with Vence in the same product category and customer use case.
- NoFence: NoFence, based in Norway, pioneered virtual fencing for livestock using GPS collars with audio and electric cues, serving cattle, sheep, and goat producers in Europe — the closest international direct competitor to Vence's cattle virtual-fencing system.
Emerging players
- CattleMax: CattleMax is a cattle ranch management software platform for recordkeeping, breeding, and herd performance — a complementary software peer serving the same rancher customers as Vence.
- Moovement: Moovement provides GPS cattle tracking collars and a herd management platform for ranchers, directly competing with Vence on GPS-based location monitoring and herd analytics.
- Cainthus: Cainthus applies computer vision and AI to monitor cattle behavior, health, and feed intake from barn and pen cameras — an emerging precision-livestock player with overlapping health-monitoring capabilities to Vence's collar analytics.
- Smartbell: Smartbell is a livestock health-monitoring startup using sensors and analytics to detect illness earlier in cattle, an emerging precision-livestock competitor adjacent to Vence's health monitoring roadmap.
Broad incumbents
- Afimilk: Afimilk is a well-established dairy farm intelligence company offering cow sensors, behavior analytics, and parlor management — a broader incumbent in livestock sensor and monitoring with adjacent technology to Vence.
- Gallagher Animal Management: Gallagher is a long-established livestock technology company offering electric fencing, weighing, and electronic identification systems. It is a broad incumbent in the ranch infrastructure space where Vence's virtual fencing competes.
- Merck Animal Health SenseHub: SenseHub is Merck Animal Health's broader livestock monitoring platform with ear-tag sensors and behavior analytics, sitting alongside Vence within Merck's portfolio and serving the same customers with overlapping health-monitoring functionality.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Vence social profiles
Digital presenceVence financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Vence leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Vence funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds9 records
Investors17 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Vence M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Vence
What does Vence do?
Vence sells an integrated virtual fencing system for cattle ranchers and livestock producers, consisting of GPS- and RF-enabled animal collars, ranch-deployed base stations, and a cloud-based software subscription that lets ranchers draw and redraw virtual pasture boundaries. The collars deliver audio cues and humane electric pulses to keep cattle within designated zones, enabling rotational grazing, real-time location monitoring, and protection of environmentally sensitive areas without physical fences.
Is Vence a public or private company?
Vence is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Vence founded?
Vence was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Vence based?
Vence is headquartered in San Diego, United States, in the North America region.
How does Vence make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Virtual Fencing Hardware (Collars) is the primary driver. The others are cloud-Based Software Subscription.
Who are Vence's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Agersens / eShepherd, Halter and NoFence. Emerging players are CattleMax, Moovement, Cainthus and Smartbell. Broad incumbents are Afimilk, Gallagher Animal Management and Merck Animal Health SenseHub.
Does Vence have an API?
No public API is recorded for Vence.
What industry is Vence in?
Vence's product category is Precision Livestock Technology. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAAAFAM, Livestock Precision Monitoring Software (Herd/Flock Analytics, Health Alerts), with a secondary code of AFAEABAM, Beef Cattle Production Support Services (Fencing, Water Systems, Range Improvement). Its NAICS code is 115210 and its SIC code is 200.