Where Are They Now? From PetBot to Petcube

You may have wondered what that four-legged robot on the front page of our website is. That’s the PetBot. In 2014, their team came to Mako Design looking for a pet invention design firm geared towards startups. Their goal was to create a device where you could communicate and interact with your pet away from home.

It’s a small device but equipped with some pretty impressive hardware, including sensors, a microphone, a camera, and an automatically or manually activated treat dispenser. That way, pets can call their owner on their smartphone by barking or standing in front of the device. When users receive a notification, they can have a video chat or take a cute pet selfie through the app.

It’s a pretty neat invention idea, right? So where are they now?

The Indiegogo Campaign

With our pet invention design expertise and their brilliant idea, we achieved the huge milestone of creating a production-ready version of the PetBot. Back in the fall of 2015, Misko Dzamba and Jason Yu launched their crowdfunding campaign to raise money for their first mass production run. From the second they launched their campaign on Indiegogo, the PetBot was an instant hit.

Backers were intrigued by the remote treat dispensing, selfie-taking, and interactive features. In the initial frenzy, they sold out of their “Super Early Bird” pledge reward within the first few days. And when the dust finally settled, the pet invention design, PetBot, secured an incredible $166,621 from 602 people. 

The Media

From there, the snowball kept rolling. Soon after the launch of their crowdfunding campaign, you could find the name PetBot littered in articles, including The Guardian, Huffington Post, AOL, and many more. “We’d all be proud pup parents receiving our dogs’ selfies at work, and there’s nothing more valuable than peace of mind when you can’t be by their side,” wrote Samantha from Bark Post.

Similarly, Iona from The Guardian called the PetBot “one of the newest, most fun and helpful tech ideas” of 2015. By January 2017, they had completed their first 600 orders in 48 countries worldwide. Their social media blew up as well. They’ve had over 3 million video views online, resulting in more than 250 publications globally on this pet invention design.

The Acquisition

In June 2017, Petcube, one of the leaders in the connected pet products industry, officially announced that it acquired our pet invention design firm’s client, PetBot. Founder and CTO Misko Dzamba joined the Petcube team as the Principal Engineer. “We’ve admired what the PetBot team built, their speed of innovation, and Dzamba’s passion for improving the lives of pets with technology,” said Yaroslav Azhnyuk, CEO and Co-Founder of Petcube. 

Fast forward to today and you’ll notice the similarities that both products share. Our pet invention design firm’s client PetBot and the Petcube both share a sleek white pearly aesthetic. Both are designed to complement any room in your home.

While the Red Dot-winning Petcube Bites 2 has all the same functions as the original PetBot, the Bites 2 has been upgraded with better cameras and speakers and even has Alexa smart assistance built in.

They also offer other devices such as the Petcube Play and Cam. The Petcube Cam is a streamlined product that includes a standalone camera without the treat dispensing function. The Petcube Play is similar to the Bites 2 model but replaces the treat dispenser with a laser light toy.

Since the acquisition, Petcube has made further investments in AI and machine learning for future product releases. Misko plays an incredibly strategic role due to his university background in those fields.

About: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients, in addition to above, we help with business strategy, product strategy, marketing, and sales/distribution for all consumer product categories. Also, our founder Kevin Mako hosts The Product Startup Podcast, the industry's leading hardware podcast. Check it out for tips, interviews, and best practices for hardware startups, inventors, and product developers. Click HERE to learn more about MAKO Design + Invent!