Hoomanely Unveils Intelligent Feeding Bowl and AI Platform to Aid Dog Owners in Illness Detection

Dogs are truly amazing companions. Yet, as many pet owners can confirm, they frequently excel at hiding when something is wrong. Take my Labrador-Great Dane mix for example—he endured tick fever multiple times throughout his 14 years, and it usually took me weeks to realize anything was amiss. At one point, it nearly gave me anxiety ulcers.

A new startup based in Palo Alto, Hoomanely, believes it can help pet owners like myself detect health problems in dogs much sooner, utilizing an AI platform that gathers data through a sensor-equipped feeding station. Called the EverBowl, this station monitors a dog’s food and water consumption, eating speeds, sounds linked to chewing and swallowing, as well as facial thermals, oral motions, and various other indicators.

The AI platform evaluates this data to establish a baseline for each dog and subsequently generates a health record. Any major and prolonged deviations from this baseline are conveyed to the pet owner through an app and comprehensive long-term reports, which the company asserts can provide valuable information to veterinarians when necessary. Additionally, the app allows users to input details, ensuring that the baseline is continuously updated with information beyond what the sensors can capture.

“Essentially, the bowl creates the ideal setting for monitoring a pet’s behavior: consistent location, posture, routine—twice a day, every day, for years,” explained Sai Supriya Sharath, co-founder and CEO of Hoomanely (shown above, center), in an interview with TechCrunch. She highlighted that appetite, hydration, and oral comfort are often the first aspects affected by pain, dental problems, gastrointestinal issues, hormonal changes, and various illnesses.

“Dogs have evolved to hide signs of lethargy and limping. However, they are far less capable of concealing their eating and drinking habits … decreased or altered intake, along with changes in drinking behavior, are observable signs across a wide range of health conditions.”

Hoomanely claims its platform was developed after an 18-month beta testing period during which the company gathered around 5 million data points from more than 80 dogs.

Throughout the testing phase, the platform detected changes in one dog’s eating patterns, which were eventually linked to a chipped tooth that was starting to become infected. In another case, the app indicated a sustained deviation from the dog’s typical eating and temperature baselines, prompting the owner to seek veterinary assistance and ultimately receive a tick fever diagnosis.

While this idea appears promising, there are factors to consider. The beta testing group was relatively small, and the company has only released about 50 devices so far. Currently, the EverBowl and its associated app are available via a subscription service priced at $29 per month.

Sharath also mentioned that the company has not yet established independent metrics for sensitivity, specificity, or false-positive rates regarding clinical events, as this would require a study comparing the system’s alerts to actual diagnoses. Hoomanely acknowledges that its platform is not designed to replace professional veterinary diagnoses but rather to support both pet owners and veterinarians in identifying potential issues more quickly.

The company is leveraging its data to conduct formal veterinary studies intended to determine whether its system is effective across a broader range of dogs. “The veterinary studies we are designing will assess sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and false positives for each alert category, and we aim to report results by use case rather than as a single headline figure,” Sharath stated.

In addition to these studies, Hoomanely plans to develop additional devices for data collection. The EverSense is expected to be a wearable that tracks movement and rest, while the EverHub will accept data from third-party devices such as smart collars, feeders, or home devices to compile environmental information.

Sharath noted that Hoomanely’s long-term goal is to evolve into an animal health data company, utilizing data collected from its devices to underpin research and collaborate with nutrition and insurance companies. Since the data collection system is not exclusively tailored to dogs, she pointed out that there are opportunities for expansion to other animals, including cats, livestock, or horses.

To date, the startup has secured $1.8 million in pre-seed funding and is beginning discussions for a seed round.