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How is your cat feeling today?
Odds are, your feline friend is fine. But cats aren’t expressive animals, which often leaves owners truly unaware if they’re in pain. When entrepreneur Susan Groeneveld noticed that cats were underserved in the veterinary space for that exact reason, she partnered with Alberta venture studio AltaML to start Sylvester.ai, a platform to assess the micro-expressions of cats to better their health outcomes.
“This species does not go to the vet regularly,” explains Groeneveld, founder and CEO of Sylvester.ai. “Most cats who are euthanized haven’t been to a veterinarian in the year previous. I wanted something to help pet owners know when it’s time for their cats to go into a clinic.”
Sylvester.ai has assessed hundreds of thousands of cat photos against validated veterinary pain scales that the company says is highly accurate, with more than 85 per cent precision. Users upload a photo of their cat to the Sylvester.ai website, and the photo is examined for five key facial cues (ear position, orbital tightening, muzzle tension, whisker positions and head position). If the cat appears unhappy, suggestions to check again and consider a trip to the vet will be made. While this can often help lead to diagnoses, it also gives pet owners peace of mind.
“I always say if we help one cat, then it’s worth it,” says Groeneveld. Though, with the original app getting over 50,000 downloads in its first week, that number is sure to be far higher. In 2023, Groeneveld was one of the top five Women in AI’s Entrepreneurs of the Year in North America, while Sylvester.ai won the 2023 Purina Pet Care Innovation Award. This summer, Sylvester.ai received a $400,000 investment from Metiquity Ventures in a $1 million pre-seed investment round.
