AI was a hot topic at this year’s London Vet Show, but nowhere was the conversation more focused and exciting than at the Anivators event, powered by Unleashed by Purina for the first time. Designed for veterinarians, founders and industry leaders, the afternoon brought together some of the brightest minds shaping the future of veterinary innovation. From expert talks to a lively panel debate and our signature startup pitch competition, the event showcased how rapidly the AI landscape is evolving. Here’s a look inside the ideas, insights and standout companies that defined the event.
Inside our AI innovation event at the London Vet Show
The Anivators event opened with Dr Adrian Grosu of Stonhaven Analytics' “AI State of the Nation” keynote, which set a clear foundation for the rest of the afternoon. He outlined the specific pain points in veterinary practice that AI is already positioned to solve, the current adoption curve among clinicians and where he expects the technology to have a real impact in the coming years.
Next, CoVet CEO and CTO Yannick Bloem delivered a focused session for the innovators in the audience, breaking down the practical differences between integrating AI into existing workflows and developing entirely new solutions. His talk naturally led to a panel discussion between Kim Bill, Head of Purina Accelerator Lab, Nestlé Purina Petcare Europe, Yannick Bloem and Dr Oli Viner, Co-Founder and Chief Veterinary Technology Officer at Hello Vet. The central question was this: does AI create an opportunity or an obstacle when it comes to veterinary medicine?
Across the panel, speakers shared grounded examples of AI being used in everyday practice, how clinicians are beginning to integrate these tools into their routines, early success stories and how vets can overcome their fear of adopting AI.
One of the day’s highlights included a pitch competition, featuring eight promising vet tech startups: AI FOR PET, Veterinarian Exam Assistant (VEA), AITEM, Disruptive Subdermals, Management for LOCUMS, knok, Manta Technologies and Sylvester.ai.
Our judges, Stella Demesticha, Head of Vet & Proplan at Purina Europe, Matthew Flann, CEO at Pennard Vets and Douglas Hutchison, FRSE FRCVS, were blown away by the vision and potential of each pitch.
The event closed with a networking session, allowing veterinary professionals, startup founders, leading veterinary experts and investors to come together and strengthen the community. It was a strong showcase of how quickly the field is moving and how committed the community is to shaping the next chapter of AI in veterinary medicine.
Key insights from Anivators 2025
If there’s one thing that all attendees of Anivators 2025 could take away, it’s that AI is here to stay. The vet space is a golden opportunity for AI innovation and is incredibly rewarding for the vets who choose to adopt these tools early.
Here are the key insights from our expert speakers and panellists:
AI is a friend, not a foe
One of the greatest debates around AI right now—especially in medical contexts—is how much a clinician should or would rely on the tool. Could AI replace vets of the future?
Our panelists say absolutely not! For the betterment of veterinary medicine and the health of our pets, human-in-the-loop is vital to every AI tool being developed. That means that the power remains in the vet’s hands, but the AI is an assistant for documenting, organising and summarising case notes and patient data.
Even with clinical tools, Dr Oli Viner, Co-Founder and Chief Veterinary Technology Officer at Hello Vet, mentioned how the importance of the veterinarian’s expertise still remains central to their workflow.
During Kim’s panel, it was even suggested that AI could bring the joy of veterinary medicine back to burnt out vets who are currently drowning in administrative tasks that slow them down.
Dr Viner said, “AI tools absolutely can save time. The question is, what do you then do with that spare time? If you fill the time with more clinical cases, you won’t reduce burnout. I think we should focus on using that time in ways that make the workload more sustainable”.
Mid-sized vet chains could lead tech adoption
Dr Adrian Grosu’s “AI State of the Nation” keynote was an eye-opener in many ways, but one of the more subtle revelations was tech adoption among the veterinary community. Specifically, he mentioned that mid-sized veterinary chains could be more open to AI tech adoption.
This makes sense as smaller private practices may be more conservative when investing in new technologies, whereas large scale vet chains may be waiting for more validation of new tools before widespread distribution.
Though imperfect, the time to embrace AI is now
AI is progressing at a rapid rate. Yannick Bloem, CEO and CTO at CoVet, mentioned how the imperfections of AI needn’t be a source of concern, because of how fast machine learning is progressing.
He encouraged veterinarians to start small when it came to adopting AI tools, but to begin experimenting and integrating them into their workflows now.
Bloem said, “My advice to vet clinics is just to start experimenting with AI. If you wait several months or years to start, you’ll miss out on the immediate opportunity. Start small, but start tomorrow”.
As AI vet tools progress, early adopters will be far ahead in terms of optimising productivity and providing a better service to their pet parents and their furbabies.
Introducing our pitch competition winners
As we often do at our own pet tech meetups, we brought our tradition of the pitch competition to Anivators this year. The Unleashed Startup Pitch Competition gave eight disruptive startups the chance to wow our judges.
Our finalists were AI FOR PET, Veterinarian Exam Assistant (VEA), AITEM, Disruptive Subdermals, Management for LOCUMS, knok, Manta Technologies and Sylvester.ai.
While our judges—Stella Demesticha, Head of Vet & Proplan at Purina Europe, Matthew Flann, CEO at Pennard Vets and Douglas Hutchison, FRSE FRCVS—were impressed by all of the pitches, they chose AI FOR PET as the winner and Sylvester.ai as the runner-up.
AI FOR PET - Winner
AI FOR PET is a South Korean company that provides an AI-powered pet health management app service called TTcare. This app allows pet parents to use their mobile devices to identify health issues with their beloved pets.
Sylvester.ai - Runner-Up
Unleashed by Purina alum Slyvester.ai, creates a groundbreaking AI-based API that can read pain signals on cats’ faces. This technology allows pet parents to identify early warning signs that their cat may be struggling, which they are notorious for hiding. It also has huge clinical applications for vets within clinical settings.
We’re excited to see what’s next for both AI FOR PET and Sylvester.ai in the coming years!
Championing the next generation of veterinary technology
The three days we spent at the London Vet Show—speaking to vets, hosting our selected startups and immersing ourselves in the veterinary discourse around AI—was the perfect way to end our 2025.
A heartfelt thank you to all the innovators and veterinarians who joined our first Anivators event. Special thanks to the sponsors, CoVet, Noble Futures and ProVet, and the organisers Harry Norman, Group Event Director of the London Vet Show and Leona Crawford, Director of Client
Engagement and Strategy at Layered.
2025 has been an incredible year for us here at Unleashed by Purina and we look forward to 2026, where we’ll continue building a stronger, more connected global pet tech community.
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