About This Fund
Companion Fund I is a $100 million corporate venture capital fund co-created by Mars Petcare and managed by Digitalis Ventures, a specialist animal health investment firm. Launched in March 2018, Companion Fund I represents the first institutionalized dedicated venture fund focused exclusively on the global pet care industry, bringing together the strategic resources of Mars Petcare, the world's largest pet care company, with the investment expertise of Digitalis Ventures to back early and growth-stage companies advancing the health, well-being, and quality of life of companion animals. The fund operates globally with offices in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and London, and invests across the full scope of pet care innovation.
Companion Fund I invests primarily across Digital Health for companion animals, advanced Diagnostics, Nutrition, and Veterinary Services and technology, targeting companies applying technology, life sciences, data science, and behavioral insights to improve pet health outcomes and strengthen the human-animal bond. Investment stage encompasses both early and growth-stage opportunities, enabling the fund to support companies from initial product development through commercial scale-up. The fund has made 30 investments in companies across its target verticals, including Wild Earth (plant-based pet food), MySimplePetLab (at-home pet health diagnostics), Mixlab (specialty pet pharmacy), Smalls (fresh pet food subscription), and Scratch (fresh pet food for cats), among other innovative pet care businesses.
The Companion Fund I model combines Mars Petcare's deep industry network, distribution relationships, retail channel access, and commercial expertise with Digitalis Ventures' independent investment governance and venture operating capabilities, creating a distinctive corporate-VC hybrid structure designed to provide portfolio companies with both capital and strategic value. The fund established the first pure-play institutional venture vehicle for the pet care sector and has since been succeeded by Companion Fund II, a $300 million vehicle co-launched by Mars and Digitalis Ventures in 2023 to continue and expand upon the thesis pioneered by the first fund, validating both the investment strategy and the corporate-VC partnership model.