Janus Labs AI, the company pioneering a new category of neural AI-powered pet health technology and future interspecies communication, has closed a $1.8 million pre-seed round led by New York Angels, with participation from Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of Greater New York, SkyRiver Ventures, and Kinisis Ventures.
Janus is using this new funding, which brings its total capital raised to $2.6 million, to develop a new category of personalized health for dogs and cats.
Its patented contactless Neuro AI technology measures brain activity, which Janus combines with physiological data. AI then interprets each pet’s unique patterns to monitor physical and mental wellbeing, identify potential early health changes, and recommend personalised care and enrichment activities.
Unlike GPS/vitals/activity trackers and periodic diagnostic testing, Janus aims to capture an entirely new layer of neural health information. Its longer-term vision is to bridge the interspecies communication gap and deepen the human-animal bond, with potential applications extending to infant health monitoring.
“We’re not interested in building another pet tracker,” said Janus Co-Founder and CEO Shaun Westbrook. “Our technology enables, for the first time, a real understanding of what’s going on inside our pets’ minds. Janus provides the closest thing to being able to have a conversation with your pet with profound implications for your pet’s health, quality of life, and well being.”
Tom Hirschfeld of New York Angels and HBS Alumni Angels of Greater New York stated, “As an early investor in many companies including pet longevity leader Loyal Animal Health, I’ve had the opportunity to rethink how we approach animal health and longevity. Janus brings a valuable new dimension to that progress, using neural technology to give pet owners insights they’ve never had access to before.”
“Janus combines breakthrough sensing technology with a compelling opportunity in personalised pet health,” according to Hyuk-Jeen Suh, General Partner, SkyRiver Ventures (founder and former head of Samsung Ventures’ East Coast office). “I see strong potential in its proprietary technology and ability to create an entirely new consumer health category.”
“Janus Labs is going after something genuinely different in a pet-tech market that has grown crowded with activity trackers,” said Andreas Panayi, Co-Founder of Kinisis Ventures. “We’ve been paying close attention to the broader smart sensor space – hardware, AI software, and rich data analytics built together – and Janus is a strong example of that pattern applied to a category that has been underserved. We look for founders willing to build the hard, unproven layer of a category rather than the easy, overcrowded, and predictable one, and that’s exactly what the Janus founders are doing here. We’re glad to back them.”
About Janus Labs AI: With 9 U.S. patents, 5 published human studies, and advanced clinical validation across multiple dog breeds, Janus brings unique neuroscience credentials to the pet health field. Its founding team includes expertise across neuroscience, AI, consumer technology, animal health, and commercialisation. The company completed the 2026 SOSV NY/IndieBio accelerator, won Best Product at The Ventures Startup Awards during NY Tech Week 2026, and was selected as a top 10 startup at the SF Tech Week Consumer AI Pitch Fest.
