Otto
Shut DownYour pet's personal wellness companion
All-in-one pet care app offering 24/7 vet access, personalized products, and wellness resources.
About
Otto was a pet care platform that gave pet owners 24/7 access to veterinary care along with personalized products and services — all bundled into a single app. Founded in 2021 by three teenage entrepreneurs — Karan Dalal, Arnuv Tandon, and Rishi Kothari — who met on their high school robotics team, Otto grew out of PetCode, a QR-code pet tag startup they built during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company aimed to capture the massive pet wellness market (70% of American households own or have owned a pet), combining telehealth veterinary consultations with curated product recommendations and plans to add proprietary insurance and consumer products. Otto raised $1.6M in funding led by Long Journey Ventures but ultimately shut down in April 2023.
DailyDropout Take
Otto caught our attention as a scrappy bet on the pet wellness boom — three teenage founders who pivoted from a QR pet tag into a full-stack pet care platform with 24/7 vet access. With 70% of American households owning pets and nine million new owners from the pandemic, the market was massive. Ultimately the company couldn't sustain its ambitions, but the founding story and market thesis were compelling.
Discovery signal: Remarkably young founding team with early traction, large addressable market (70% of US households), pandemic-driven pet ownership surge creating urgent demand for digital vet access
What Makes Them Unique
Otto stood out by bundling 24/7 veterinary telehealth with personalized product recommendations and planned insurance offerings — all in a single app built by remarkably young founders who understood the anxious new pet parent demographic that emerged during the pandemic.
$1.6M
Total Raised
Tens of thousands
Users Reached
Shut down April 2023
Status
Target Markets
Founders
Karan Dalal
Co-Founder & CEO
Founded Otto (formerly PetCode) while in high school. Built the company from a COVID-era QR pet tag project into a full pet wellness platform before its closure in 2023.
Arnuv Tandon
Co-Founder & COO
Co-founded Otto alongside Karan Dalal and Rishi Kothari after meeting on their high school robotics team.
Rishi Kothari
Co-Founder & CTO
Served as CTO of Otto, leading the technical development of the pet wellness platform. Previously built PetCode during high school.
Funding History
Lead: Long Journey Ventures