Communicate with your cat using artificial intelligence

Sylvester.ai is disrupting the global $300B+ pet care industry with their veterinarian-backed AI-technology innovation in feline healthcare that helps cat caregivers assess whether their kitty is in distress and – most importantly – use that info to inform whether it’s time to get their beloved cat to the vet.

The proprietary smartphone-enabled solution achieves 89% precision in feline pain detection (all with the quick snap of a photo) and is being adopted by veterinary clinics across parts of North America, Asia, and Europe, demonstrating rapid-market validation in the growing pet tech-sector. To date, Sylvester.ai has assessed more than 350,000 cat photos, garnering over 54,000 users.

The tech allows all cat caregivers to leverage artificial intelligence to analyse key facial indicators in cats including ear position, orbital tightening, muzzle tension, whisker positions, and head position.

As Sylvester.ai expands its global footprint through strategic partnerships and continues integrating with leading veterinary platforms, the company is poised to build the world's largest database of feline visual health indicators.

SCALE AI selects Sylvester.ai for VivaTech 2025

Sylvester.ai's Founder and CEO Susan Groeneveld will attend VivaTech 2025, led by SCALE AI, as part of Canada's AI Global Innovation Cluster, in Paris from June 11-14th, 2025. VivaTech, largely considered to be Europe's premier technology conference, accelerates innovation by connecting startups, tech leaders, major companies, and investors responding to our world’s biggest challenges.

"We are honoured to represent Canadian innovation alongside other visionary companies at VivaTech 2025," Groeneveld says. "This mission provides a unique opportunity to globalize feline healthcare while highlighting how Canadian AI technology is transforming veterinary care worldwide."

AI, vet, and animal behaviour scientists and development team

Groeneveld and her team of data scientists, AI experts, veterinarians, and animal behavioural scientists developed the AI solution because there’s a stark reality in North American pet healthcare: while cats are present in one in three US households, less than half receive regular veterinary care. This gap, initially identified during Groeneveld's early career in animal pharmaceuticals, revealed a systemic issue: cats simply receive significantly less attention and medical care as well as research funding compared to that of dogs.

"Part of that was because cats don't go to the vet as often," Groeneveld notes, explaining how cats' natural instinct to mask pain leads to delayed or missed medical care. Sylvester.ai addresses the significant healthcare gap in the feline pet market, where only one in three of the 85 million (NA) cats receive regular veterinary care.

Founder Susan Groeneveld’s story: from ranch life to AI revolution

The Albertan entrepreneur has a storied career that has taken her everywhere from rancher, and NFP founder (Cat Healthy, a non-profit dedicated to improving feline healthcare), to co-founding a marketing agency specialising in multinationals for animal health and agriculture. A graduate of the Birthing of Giants Fellowship Program, and Entrepreneur of the Year for Women in AI across North America finalist (2023) Groeneveld's expertise spans artificial intelligence, marketing, and animal health. Her mission to give cats a voice in their healthcare has resonated globally, with Sylvester.ai's technology now directly available to hundreds of veterinary clinics worldwide.

And… it all began with a personal promise to her beloved farm cat, Jack.

“Jack was an older cat on the farm, and we just didn't know that he was in tremendous pain. He ended up declining and passing away on his own and at the time, it was heartbreaking, we just thought it's a natural way for cats to decline and get old," explains Groeneveld, adding that this experience and the knowledge that cats naturally hide their pain was a catalyst (pun intended) in inspiring her to found the company that would address this critical gap in veterinary care.

Proprietary AI technology and data pipeline

The invitation to Paris comes because Sylvester.ai is making a major impact, not just on the multi-billion-dollar feline health care market but also on the global tech, AI, machine learning arenas. Sylvester.ai’s proprietary visual pain scoring technology model is one-of-a-kind, largely because of the company’s structured data pipeline and domain knowledge development.

"We want that data to be rich. We are building on it consistently for expansion and improvement," explains Groeneveld, describing the company's strategic approach to working with veterinary partners.

It works based on multiple validated grimace scales, assessment tools of acute pain in cats that veterinary professionals use once a cat is in their clinic, and that is the core of why Sylvester.ai is making such a huge impact. This smartphone-enabled solution builds upon the traditional veterinary validated facial pain scales, transforming how veterinarians and pet caregivers assess feline well-being while building on the data.

“The challenge and problem has always been getting cats into clinics when they need to see us for care,” says Liz Ruelle, DVM, DABVP Feline Specialist, and feline expert with Sylvester.ai. “For cat caregivers it can be hard to assess when their cat needs to see a vet to begin with. Then getting them there can be a stressful challenge for all parties involved. Sylvester.ai not only helps cats get assessed quickly for a baseline on their comfort level, but it brings more cats into clinics and improves patient retention, which is good news for cats, vets and caregivers.”

User/cat caregiver, Alex Johnson says Sylvester.ai has reshaped the way she communicates and cares for her cat.

"As a cat lover and owner, I absolutely rely on Sylvester.ai to let me know when my cat is feeling happy or is feeling poorly. It takes the guess work out of assessing my cat and relieves my worries! Now I don't have to worry if my cat is in pain and I'm missing her cues. My life as a cat mom just got easier!" Johnson says.

$1M pre-seed success story

As Sylvester.ai’s cross-border expansion success keeps growing along with strategic partnerships with industry leaders, the cat-ai is in exciting momentum looking ahead to a seed round in fall 2025. The company secured a $1 million pre-seed investment round in 2024, including $400,000 from Metiquity Ventures, validating its approach to transforming feline healthcare through artificial intelligence.

“We are thrilled to support Sylvester in their mission to improve feline health,” said Bryan Slauko, Partner at Metiquity Ventures. “Sylvester’s potential to influence the industry is substantial. Their innovative use of AI has the potential to set new standards of care in the veterinary industry, and we anticipate great achievements through their expanded capabilities.”