What Animaute does

Animaute is a French two-sided online marketplace, founded in 2009 by veterinarian Olivier Tondusson, that connects individual pet owners with verified non-professional pet sitters across France and, more recently, Belgium. The platform supports three core service categories: Garde en Famille (boarding at the sitter's home), Garde à Domicile (in-home sitting), and Visites et Promenades (cat visits and dog walking), and serves a horizontal pet-owner base spanning dogs, cats, and NACs (rabbits, ferrets, rodents, birds, reptiles). Pet sitters apply through a vetting process that rejects approximately 20% of candidates, after which they are listed in a city-and-date searchable directory.

The platform is built on a standard marketplace tech stack: web-based search and booking flow, payment processing through BNP Paribas Mercanet (3D Secure) with Scalapay 3x installment support, third-party verified review collection via Avis Vérifiés, and a text-based AI assistant named Billy for customer support deflection. It is hosted on OXEVA infrastructure in Paris, and is RGPD/GDPR compliant with CNIL declaration dating to 2009. Generali provides bundled professional liability insurance (RCP) included on every booking.

The business model rests on three monetization layers: (i) transaction fees charged to pet owners at the time of booking (capped at €299 TTC), (ii) optional add-ons — Cancellation and Health Guarantees priced at €4/day — and (iii) recurring revenue from Premium sitter subscriptions (€24/3 months, €36/6 months, €48/1 year) and discount cards (ILOA, ULINE, ISIS) targeting repeat customers. Go-to-market is community-led and SEO-heavy, with city-specific landing pages covering all major French metros, supplemented by Google/Bing SEM, DoubleClick retargeting, email, and earned PR across Le Figaro, TF1 Info, France Info, and 20 Minutes. The Max & Kitty sub-brand and Super Sitter program represent modest ecosystem buildout around the core marketplace.

Name

Animaute

Legal name

SAS ANIMAUTE

Website

https://animaute.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Animaute is a French online marketplace, founded in 2009 by veterinarian Olivier Tondusson, connecting individual pet owners with verified non-professional pet sitters across France and Belgium for boarding, home visits, and dog walking services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pet Care Marketplace

NAICS

Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services (81291), Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services (812910)

SIC

Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744)

akta.pro primary industry

Pet Care & Pet Services Platforms (Sitting, Walking, Grooming) (BPAMAHAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Live-In In-Home Pet Sitting (24/7 Presence) (HSANAEAC), Long-Term/Extended-Stay Boarding (HSANADAJ)

Keywords

• Pet sitting marketplace
• Pet care services
• Pet boarding platform
• Dog walking services
• Pet sitting bookings

Headquarters

HQ city

Saulgond

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Transaction fees (frais de mise en relation): Animaute charges service fees to pet owners at the time of booking, calculated based on the number and type of animals, duration, service type, and optional add-ons. Capped at €299 TTC. This is the primary revenue stream.
2. Premium subscription for pet sitters: Pet sitters can subscribe to a Premium subscription (€24 for 3 months, €36 for 6 months, €48 for 1 year) for benefits including priority visibility (premium badge), unlimited booking responses, free partner training, and partner discounts.
3. Optional guarantees and add-ons: Cancellation Guarantee and Health Guarantee offered at €4/day (min €17, max €50). Discount cards (ILOA -20% at €19, ULINE -50% at €69, ISIS -100% at €219) for repeat customers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Animaute operates a two-sided online marketplace connecting individual pet owners in France and Belgium with verified non-professional pet sitters (families) for pet boarding, in-home pet sitting, dog walking, and cat visits. The platform facilitates search by location, dates, and animal type, handles booking, payment processing via BNP Paribas Mercanet, reviews via the independent Avis Vérifiés service, and bundles professional liability insurance (Generali RCP) with every booking. Animaute is the only pet-sitting platform in France founded and supervised by a veterinarian (co-founder Olivier Tondusson).

Product overview

Animaute operates a two-sided marketplace platform connecting pet owners with verified non-professional pet sitters across France and Belgium. The core platform supports three main service types: Garde en Famille (boarding at the sitter's home), Garde à Domicile (in-home sitting), and Visites et Promenades (cat visits and dog walking). The platform is supplemented by optional paid add-ons including Garantie Annulation and Garantie Santé (health guarantee with veterinary fee coverage up to €250), an Abonnement Premium for sitters offering enhanced visibility and training access, and discount cards (ILOA, ULINE, ISIS). A built-in AI assistant called Billy handles automated customer support inquiries, and included RCP insurance via Generali covers all bookings. The Super Sitter program identifies highly-rated, rigorously vetted pet sitters. Max & Kitty is a related group brand under the same parent company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Max & Kitty: Related brand/group mentioned in press releases. Communiqué de Presse - Avril 2017 states 'Max & Kitty, bien vivre ensemble.'

Products and services

• Garde d'Animaux en Famille (Family Pet Boarding) Pet boarding service where animals are hosted overnight at a verified pet sitter's home, offering a family-style care alternative to traditional kennels; available for dogs, cats, parrots, ferrets, rabbits, rodents, birds, fish, and turtles.
• Garde à Domicile (In-Home Pet Sitting) Pet-sitting service where a verified pet sitter stays at the owner's home to care for the animal during the owner's absence.
• Visites et Promenades (Cat Visits and Dog Walking) Cat visits and dog walking where a verified pet sitter visits the owner's home to feed, clean, and spend time with the pet, or walks dogs per visit.
• Garde de NAC (Exotic Pet Care) Boarding and visits for exotic pets (lapins, furets, oiseaux, rongeurs, poissons, tortues) with sitters adapted to their specific needs.
• Garantie Annulation (Cancellation Guarantee) Optional add-on priced at €2 TTC per day (minimum €8.50 TTC, capped at €25 TTC) that reimburses customers in cases of incapacity, death, property damage, travel cancellation, or animal health issues affecting the booking.
• Garantie Santé (Health Guarantee) Optional add-on priced at €2 TTC per day (minimum €8.50 TTC, capped at €25 TTC) that covers veterinary fees up to €250 for the entire duration of a pet-sitting service, including consultations, medications, accidents, escape, or death of the animal.
• Club Premium (Pet Sitter Premium Subscription) Subscription for verified pet sitters providing enhanced profile visibility via a Premium badge, unlimited booking responses, free partner training (including first aid certification via Centre Européen de Formation), and exclusive partner discounts; priced at €24 TTC / 3 months, €36 TTC / 6 months, or €48 TTC / 1 year.
• Cartes de Réduction (Discount Cards ILOA, ULINE, ISIS) One-year discount cards for pet owners offering tiered discounts on platform service fees: ILOA (-20%) at €19, ULINE (-50%) at €69, and ISIS (-100%) at €219; reductions apply only to platform service fees.

Quantifiable outcome

• 98% satisfaction rate based on 45,057 verified reviews out of 45,618 total active reviews
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 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

Integration7 records

AI capability2 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GeneralicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGenerali provides bundled professional liability insurance (Responsabilité Civile Professionnelle, RCP) included with every pet sitting booking on Animaute. This insurance covers damages caused by the pet during care (bites, scratches, accidents, escapes). It is mandatory as personal liability insurance typically does not cover paid services.
• BNP Paribas (Mercanet / 3D Secure)coreTechnology or IntegrationBNP Paribas provides payment processing infrastructure via the Mercanet 3D Secure system. Animaute deposits service fees directly through this payment gateway.
• OXEVAcoreTechnology or IntegrationOXEVA provides web hosting services for Animaute. Data is hosted at OXEVA's Paris facility (12 rue de la Bourse, 75002 Paris).
• Centre Européen de FormationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCentre Européen de Formation provides training courses for pet sitters. Premium subscribers on Animaute get free access to these training programs, earning badges that enhance their profiles.
• Avis VérifiésminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThird-party review verification service. Animaute uses Avis Vérifiés to independently collect and publish verified customer reviews, ensuring authenticity of feedback. All reviews are verified against actual bookings.
• Max & KittyminorOthersSister company/brand of Animaute, referenced in press communications. 'Max & Kitty, bien vivre ensemble' is a related brand in the pet care space.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• TrustedHousesitters: Subscription-based house and pet sitting marketplace connecting homeowners with sitters. Comparable model for non-professional pet care during owner absences, with a different monetization (membership fees) but similar service offering.
• Holidog: French-headquartered pet care marketplace offering pet sitting, boarding, walking, and home visits. Closest direct peer to Animaute in France with a similar two-sided marketplace model and similar target customer (individual pet owners).
• Pawshake: European peer-to-peer pet sitting marketplace with operations in multiple EU countries including France. Directly comparable two-sided model for boarding, house sitting, dog walking, and drop-in visits.
• PetSitter.com: Online directory and marketplace for pet sitters operating across multiple countries. Comparable two-sided platform for pet sitting and related care services.
• PetBacker: Global pet services marketplace covering pet sitting, boarding, grooming, and walking. Operates in France and other markets with similar non-professional sitter supply model.

Broad incumbents

• Bark (formerly DogBuddy): European pet services platform (formerly DogBuddy) offering dog walking, sitting, and broader pet services. Larger European incumbent with adjacent services to Animaute's core offerings.
• Rover: Global pet-sitting and dog-walking marketplace operating across multiple countries. Broader incumbent with deeper capital and a larger supply network, but with overlapping value proposition in pet boarding and dog walking.

Emerging players

• Petbnb: Pet boarding marketplace that connects pet owners with hosts offering home-based boarding. Comparable marketplace model for family-style pet boarding, similar to Animaute's core 'garde en famille' offering.
• Yoopies: France-based services marketplace expanding from childcare into pet care and other household services. Adjacent player with partial overlap in French pet-sitting services.
• Animoove: French pet services platform focused on dog walking and pet sitting. Emerging French peer competing in similar geographies and use cases as Animaute.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCp2_OItucOaCBhnFcgZWbQQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/Animaute
• Xx.com/Anim_hote
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/animaute

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 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 Animaute