Where Remote Vet Care Meets Rapid Medication Delivery
- SEONWOO LEE
- Aug 15
- 7 min read
Updated: Sep 4
*This article was originally published as a contribution to the Dong-A Business Review (DBR) in July 2022.
Article at a Glance
Founded in 2019, Singapore-based startup ZumVet has emerged as Southeast Asia’s leading remote veterinary platform, driven by surging demand for digital pet care during COVID-19 lockdowns. The platform enables pet owners to consult veterinarians virtually from home and receive prescribed medications with same-day delivery.
While the region’s pet care market is rapidly expanding, a chronic shortage of veterinarians—due to low pay and poor working conditions—continues to limit access to timely care. ZumVet addresses this gap by offering vets flexible, remote work opportunities, helping prevent minor health issues from escalating. Beyond clinical services, the company is now broadening its scope to include pet wellness and lifestyle offerings, positioning itself as a comprehensive digital pet care provider.
Pandemic Accelerates Digital Transformation in Veterinary Care
In early 2020, when Singapore implemented strict lockdown measures, local veterinarians were only permitted to treat only critical or emergency cases. This left an estimated 300,000 pets across the country at risk of delayed care. The pandemic became a catalyst for digital transformation in pet healthcare—and ZumVet, founded just a year prior, seized the opportunity. Leveraging the demand for remote care, ZumVet built a network of over 100 veterinarians to provide virtual consultations. Pet owners can now connect with professionals through video calls and receive prescriptions, with medication delivered anywhere in Singapore within three hours.
[Update – Funding & Growth] In August 2022, ZumVet closed a US$3.7 million Series A funding round led by Quest Ventures and Pine Venture Partners, bringing its total funding to date to approximately US$3.7 million as of 2025. This capital has been directed toward expanding service offerings, enhancing platform infrastructure, and supporting market entries beyond Singapore.
Targeting Southeast Asia’s Booming Pet Market
Even before COVID-19, global pet care spending was already surging. In South Korea, for instance, the pet care market grew from approximately USD 1.5 billion in 2015 to a projected USD 4.6 billion by 2027. According to the American Pet Products Association (APPA), U.S. spending reached $95.7 billion in 2019 and was projected to hit $99 billion in 2020. Pandemic lockdowns further accelerated this trend, as more Americans adopted pets and increased spending on pet-related goods and services. Naturally, this shift in lifestyle also led to greater willingness to spend on pets, accelerating a consumer trend toward premium products and services. Pam Runquist, Executive Director at the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association, noted in USA Today that “shelter populations dropped as more people adopted pets during COVID.”
This trend is evident worldwide, but Southeast Asia stands out as the fastest-growing pet care market. According to Euromonitor, developed markets such as North America, Western Europe, and Australia already have large pet care sectors, but growth is relatively slow due to market maturity. In these regions, pet owners typically spend approximately USD 230 to 270 per animal annually, with yearly growth rates under 10 percent. In contrast, in regions like Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America, annual spending per pet is still under USD 75. However, these markets are experiencing double-digit growth rates, reflecting rapidly rising demand despite their smaller base.
[Update – Market Expansion] Building on its early traction in Singapore, ZumVet has also launched services in Hong Kong, marking its first market entry outside Southeast Asia. The Hong Kong platform connects local pet owners with licensed veterinarians and offers the same integrated teleconsultation, prescription, and medication delivery model, adapted for local regulations and consumer needs.
Addressing Unmet Needs from Veterinary Shortages
Hidden behind the pet market's high growth is a worsening veterinary shortage across Southeast Asia over the past decade. Poor compensation has led to over 10% of veterinarians leaving the industry annually. With insufficient supply and rising pet populations driving demand, structural veterinary labor shortages continue to intensify. While South Korea has one veterinarian per 500 pets, Southeast Asia has one veterinarian per 5,500 pets—meaning each veterinarian must care for ten times as many pets. Even before COVID-19, pet owners often waited over a week for simple treatments, and after the pandemic, even with an appointment, waiting 2–3 hours at clinics became commonplace.
Platforms like ZumVet are uniquely positioned to address this supply–demand imbalance. Pets requiring emergency procedures, such as surgery, must go to a clinic regardless of appointment difficulties. However, the majority of cases can be diagnosed remotely through ZumVet. In fact, around 70–80% of consultations involve minor conditions treatable with medication. Common issues like skin irritations or mild abdominal discomfort can be quickly resolved with a remote prescription and home-delivered medication. For the remaining 20–30% of cases—more severe conditions that cannot be accurately diagnosed remotely—ZumVet directs pet owners to seek in-person care at a veterinary clinic. Unlike offline clinics, online diagnostic services incur far lower fixed costs. Leveraging this cost advantage, ZumVet can sell medications at roughly 50% less than traditional clinics, offering a clear benefit to customers.
ZumVet is addressing this bottleneck by expanding the talent pool. The company actively recruits part-time and retired veterinarians who seek flexible, non-traditional working arrangements. Many veterinarians prefer not to invest heavily in opening a private clinic and hiring staff. Instead, they seek the flexibility to consult and prescribe treatments on their own schedule, and rest when they choose. By managing backend operations such as insurance claims, billing, pharmacy coordination, and delivery logistics, ZumVet allows vets to focus solely on care—an attractive proposition. As a result, the number of veterinarians on ZumVet’s platform has doubled annually.
ZumVet’s core value lies in providing busy pet owners with timely, accessible care to prevent minor issues from becoming serious. Virtual consultations offer a stress-free alternative for both pets and owners, especially for animals that become anxious in unfamiliar clinical settings. Remote diagnosis from home can often lead to better outcomes.
Former Human Telemedicine Platform CEO's Venture
ZumVet’s co-founder and CEO, Athena Lee, is no stranger to digital healthcare. A Carnegie Mellon graduate and former UBS banker, she previously served as CEO of Doctor Anywhere—Southeast Asia’s leading human telemedicine platform. Doctor Anywhere now serves over 1.5 million users across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines, supported by 2,800 doctors and USD 90 million in cumulative investment, including funding from Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund.
Athena’s personal experience with her cat, whose urinary tract infection went untreated for six months due to her busy schedule, inspired the business. Co-founder Grace Su, a former physician from a major Singapore hospital, also struggled to care for her aging cat while working long hours. Sharing similar frustrations, the pair left their jobs to launch ZumVet, applying their experience from Doctor Anywhere to build a digital platform tailored to pet care needs in Southeast Asia.
Beyond Healthcare: Expanding into Pet Wellness and Lifestyle
In its early stages, ZumVet focused on developing a remote consultation solution that could connect veterinarians, digital pharmacies, and video-based diagnostic services in response to the market demands and constraints brought about by COVID-19 pandemic. The goal was to build an end-to-end digital healthcare platform that seamlessly integrated consultations, treatments, prescriptions, and follow-ups through both mobile and web interfaces. A key priority was improving accessibility through user-centered design. To this end, ZumVet built out a robust service infrastructure that includes 24/7 teleconsultation availability, the use of diagnostic kits, continuous monitoring, and customized medication offerings—helping it grow into Southeast Asia’s largest pet healthcare platform.
While healthcare formed the core of ZumVet’s business expansion during the pandemic, the founders soon recognized that true pet care goes beyond clinical treatment. Pet training, nutrition, and everyday wellness emerged as equally important pillars. As pets increasingly became viewed as full-fledged family members, owners increasingly sought ways to improve their pets’ quality of life—just as they would for themselves. This shift in perception created a growing market for wellness and lifestyle offerings, and pet owners showed strong willingness to invest in better diets and higher-quality products and services for their animals.
However, despite the rising interest in companion animal wellness, overall awareness and knowledge of proper pet care remained limited in Southeast Asia. ZumVet realized that in order to establish a sustainable wellness and lifestyle market, education and awareness-building had to go hand in hand. The company adopted a highly localized strategy to develop both online and offline communities that could serve as hubs for knowledge-sharing and experience. In addition to operating its e-commerce platform—which offers home diagnostic kits, pet food, toys, and other lifestyle products—ZumVet launched an offline experience center called ZumHaus, designed to foster community engagement. Through ZumHaus, customers can access a wide range of services such as pet training programs, grooming, and other in-person care options. These efforts aim to broaden exposure to diverse pet lifestyles and wellness practices. As a result, ZumVet has built a loyal customer base, with more than 50% of users returning for additional services.
ZumVet has attracted over 120 Google reviews in three years post-founding, maintaining exceptionally high customer satisfaction at 4.9 out of 5.0.
Global Expansion and Future Outlook
One of the key advantages of remote services is the elimination of physical and geographic barriers. ZumVet is already expanding beyond Southeast Asia, with growing numbers of users and veterinarians joining from the U.S. each month. In cities like Jakarta and Manila, notorious for traffic congestion, remote services offer significant time savings. To meet this demand, ZumVet plans to establish local entities and hire teams in Jakarta and Manila by the end of 2022. It also aims to enter the U.S. market—specifically in the South and West—where the veterinarian shortage is also acute.
[Update – Regional Operations] Following its Hong Kong launch, ZumVet has strengthened its operational base across Southeast Asia and is in advanced discussions to establish localized teams in Jakarta and Manila. The company is also exploring partnerships with regional logistics and insurance providers to streamline cross-border service delivery.
ZumVet aims to lead global pet market transformation over the next five years through several major changes: 1) Decentralizing and digitalizing offline veterinary clinic diagnosis/treatment methods to improve record management and prescription systems, 2) Strengthening big data-based veterinary diagnosis, management, and supervision, 3) Expanding and premiumizing customized pet healthcare services. Interest in managing the health and quality of life of companion animals will only continue to grow. All eyes are on platforms like ZumVet to see whether they can truly enhance the well-being of pet-loving households through their expanding suite of services.
Hyuk-Tae Kwon
Founder and CEO
