Veterinarian-founded cat healthcare company "uniam" raises 770 million yen in Series A funding. Full-scale launch of Japan's first cat longevity research institution and acceleration of recruitment.

uniam Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Ai Sugimoto; hereinafter, "the Company"), which operates a cat-specialized healthcare brand with the mission of "Love and Medicine for a Cat's Lifetime," is pleased to announce that it has raised approximately 770 million yen in total funding. This includes a third-party allocation of new shares to WPower Fund as the lead investor, ANOBAKA Inc., Crest Skill Partners Inc., and individual investors, as well as loans from financial institutions such as Japan Finance Corporation, Mizuho Bank, Hokkoku Bank, and Shoko Chukin Bank.

● Underwriters (Titles omitted, in no particular order)

・(New) WPower Fund
・(Existing) ANOBAKA

・(New) Crest Skill Partners
・(New) Individual Investors

● Background and Purpose of Funding

Our company operates a cat-specialized healthcare brand based on veterinary knowledge, with the mission of "Love and Medicine for a Cat's Lifetime." Our core business is to deliver scientifically evidence-based dietary designs to cats and their owners from the perspective of preventive medicine, aiming to "prevent illness."

The global pet care market has reached approximately 31 trillion yen (※1), and the domestic cat-related economy market has expanded to about 3 trillion yen (※2). The number of cats kept as pets is growing at a faster rate than dogs. This trend is common across developed countries, with the number of cat-owning households in the US increasing by 23% year-on-year (※3), and the number of cats kept as pets in China increasing by approximately 1.76 times over the past five years (※4). Against the backdrop of declining birthrates, urbanization, and an increase in single-person households, cats are transitioning to become a major companion animal in modern society.

On the other hand, the main causes of death in cats are renal and urinary tract diseases, tumors, and cardiovascular diseases (※5), and modern chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and periodontal disease are also increasing. Many of these have a strong correlation with diet, yet evidence-based preventive dietary design remains an unestablished area both domestically and internationally.

Since sales began in February 2023, our company has been highly evaluated by many customers for its product design based on medical evidence, releasing 30 products in three years. We have achieved 100-fold monthly sales growth and have established a wide range of sales channels from premium stores such as Roppongi Midtown and Matsuya Ginza to 190 Aeon Pet stores nationwide. Furthermore, through joint development with Anicom Group, which holds the No. 1 share in pet insurance (※6), we are steadily building a research foundation that integrates diet and medicine. This includes collecting and analyzing food intake data and promoting joint research with universities and academia through the establishment of "uniam Longevity Lab".

The points for which our company has been evaluated so far are mainly the following four:

The funds raised this time will be primarily allocated to strengthening recruitment for marketers, business development, R&D, and wholesale sales, product development centered on joint research with academia, and expanding wholesale distribution networks. This will accelerate the expansion of our preventive medicine-based food lines, the publication of research papers, and expansion into overseas markets, thereby advancing our goal of establishing ourselves as a "cat health infrastructure."

● Special Recruitment Site Launched

Following this funding round, we are strengthening our recruitment efforts. This environment offers the opportunity to tackle an unprecedented area from the founding stage: extending the healthy lifespan of cats through the "integration of diet and medicine."

We are looking for individuals who possess both a sincere commitment to scientific evidence and a dedication to design and branding, and who are genuinely passionate about "changing the future of cats through business."

We are currently recruiting for the following positions:

• Marketer

• Business Development

• Finance Manager

• R&D

• Sales

• Content Creator

• Customer Success

In conjunction with this financing, we have launched a special website that summarizes our aspirations, the future we aim to realize, and note articles by our members, including Representative Director and CEO Ai Sugimoto. Please take a look.
Recruitment information here 👉 Recruitment Site | uniam Inc.

● Comments from Investors

Miwa Seki, General Partner, MPower Partners, and Tomonori Ishikawa, Associate

Related Interview 👉 Aiming for a 1 trillion yen company. Behind the Series A funding.

Hiroki Oda, Capitalist, ANOBAKA Inc.

Related Interview 👉 Making life with cats more unique──uniam's challenge to extend the healthy lifespan of cats

Akiyuki Minami, Representative Director, Crest Skill Partners Inc., and Kae Umeda, General Partner

Individual Investor Morio Ishikawa

Individual Investor, Creative Director Takahiro Hosoda

● Investor Interview: "Why did you invest in uniam?"

An interview between Miwa Seki, General Partner at MPower Partners, the lead investor, and Ai Sugimoto, Representative Director, has been simultaneously published on Note.
They discuss how they met our company, the reasons for their investment decision, and their future expectations. Please take a look.

👉Click here for the interview article:Aiming for a 1 trillion yen company. Behind the Series A.

● Bank Loan Officer Interview: "Reasons for deciding to lend to uniam"

An interview between Yohei Fujii of Mizuho Bank and Ai Sugimoto, Representative Director, has been simultaneously published on Note.

Please take a look.

👉Click here for the interview article:Why Mizuho Bank "immediately decided" to lend to uniam

● Comment from Representative Director Ai Sugimoto

Our company, with the mission of "Love and Medicine for a Cat's Lifetime," is challenging to extend the healthy lifespan of cats.
We believe that this funding round is not merely for business expansion, but a significant step towards rewriting the conventional wisdom regarding cat health and longevity.

Until now, as a veterinarian-founded healthcare company, we have been engaged in developing food based on medical evidence and designing experiences that empower owners to make daily choices with confidence.
In this financing round, we have been joined by incredibly supportive shareholders who resonate with this challenge and will build the future with us. We express our sincere gratitude.

We are breaking down old assumptions about the lifespan of cats.
We are creating a new norm: extending the healthy lifespan of cats.

We will update the areas that have been dismissed as "unavoidable" from now on.

uniam Inc.

Representative Director Ai Sugimoto

👉Click here for the representative's Note article:[Extending lifespan with diet and medicine] Background of Series A funding

【About uniam Inc.】

uniam Inc. is a veterinarian-founded healthcare brand with the mission of "Love and Medicine for a Cat's Lifetime."

Veterinarians who keenly felt that there was too little they could do once a cat became ill believed that the daily habit of "food" had the power to change the future, and thus uniam began. Veterinarians and specialists are involved in the development, thoroughly applying a scientific approach from material selection to prescription design and manufacturing processes. Products that balance deliciousness and functionality are designed to be comfortably continued by both owners and cats.
However, "correctness" alone is not enough to sustain. That is why we infuse playfulness and creativity into all aspects of design and experience. So that everyday life with cats can be healthier, more comfortable, and filled with confidence. uniam will deliver new options for the "ordinary daily life" of cats and people through the power of medicine and creativity.

Company Name: uniam Inc.
Location: 1-29-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Ai Sugimoto, Representative Director (Veterinarian)
Official Website: https://uniam.jp
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uniam_official/
X: https://twitter.com/uniam_official
LINE: https://lin.ee/yhose0E

(Reference links in text)

※1) Global pet care market approximately 31 trillion yen Euromonitor International "World Market for Pet Care 2025"

※2) Domestic cat-related economy market approximately 3 trillion yen, estimated by Professor Emeritus Katsuhiro Miyamoto, Kansai University

※3) Number of cat-owning households in the US increased by 23% year-on-year (approx. 40 million → approx. 49 million households) American Pet Products Association (APPA) "2025 Dog & Cat Report" (2025)

※4) Number of cats kept as pets in China increased by approximately 1.76 times over the past 5 years (2019: approx. 40.64 million → 2024: approx. 71.53 million) GBE (China Pet Industry White Paper) / Petdata.cn, China Daily

※5) Main causes of death in cats (renal and urinary tract diseases, tumors, cardiovascular diseases) Anicom General Insurance Co., Ltd. "Anicom Household Animal White Paper 2024" (December 2024)

※6) Calculated from the number of contracts of pet insurance companies from 2010 to 2024. Survey by Fuji Keizai Co., Ltd. "Pet-related Market Marketing Overview"