Filu
Founded 2022 · 80 employees on LinkedIn · 10 known investors
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Filu operates veterinary practices offering comprehensive animal care including emergency medicine, surgery, dentistry, internal medicine, and in-house diagnostics with digital imaging. It serves pet owners across German cities including Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hannover, Köln, and München, with online appointment booking.
Also known as filu Tierarztpraxis · filu.vet
Founders & leadership
Filu was founded in 2022 by Justus Buchen.
Investors · 10
Also in the syndicate · 5
Funding
SEC filings, press & company announcements- Undisclosed amountSeed FundingNov 2023Source ↗
Source: company announcements and press reports — follow each round's link for the claim.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Filu builds and operates veterinary practices for small animals and pets in Germany, combining clinical care with digital patient-facing tools. Its stated core competencies are emergency medicine, surgery (including tumour removals, emergency operations and spay/neuter procedures), dentistry with dental X-ray diagnostics, and diagnostics via an in-house laboratory, high-resolution digital radiography and ultrasound. Additional services include preventive care and vaccinations, urgent care, special examinations, animal physiotherapy, telehealth/video consultation, and grooming for dogs and cats at the Hamburg Winterhude site.
The company pursues a "de novo" strategy of opening new practices rather than acquiring existing ones, positioning them between emergency clinics, preventive practices and digital care. Practices are equipped to current standards with X-ray, ultrasound and inhalation anaesthesia, alongside digital practice tools including a digital patient file for animals and online appointment booking. Filu also emphasises working conditions for veterinary staff as part of its operating model, citing stress and poor conditions in the profession.
Customer-facing digital products include the my.filu web portal and a filu app, which allow appointment booking and management, viewing past treatments and diagnoses, managing pet data, and viewing and downloading invoices and lab results; planned features include a vaccination tracker, personal-data management and document management for doctor's letters and X-ray images.
Founding story
Munich-based Filu was founded by a team reported as Anna Magdalena (Lena) Naderer, Christian Köhler and Justus Buchen, with Naderer as Chief Veterinary Officer, Köhler as CEO and Buchen as COO. The company was founded in 2022 and raised a seed round that year with the aim of opening its first practices in Munich.
Business model
Filu operates its own branded veterinary practices that deliver medical services directly to pet owners, supported by digital booking, a customer portal and an app. Practices are newly established rather than acquired (a "de novo" model), with the stated ambition of becoming a primary platform for high-quality pet care.
Revenue comes from fees charged to pet owners for veterinary services, including preventive care, urgent and emergency treatment, surgery, dental procedures, diagnostic imaging and laboratory work, physiotherapy and grooming; a price overview is published for download and invoices are issued per treatment via the customer portal.
Traction
The website reports more than 35,571 pets treated since 2023 and an average rating of 4.8 from 2,650 reviews, across twelve practices in eight German locations. A waiting list for new-location notifications shows 1,023 sign-ups.
Latest developments
Filu expanded to Cologne, reported in January 2025, and continues to add senior veterinary staff, with medical directors listed as joining in 2024, 2025 and 2026. A customer app and the my.filu portal are live, with a vaccination tracker, personal-data management and document management listed as upcoming features.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Positioned as a tech-enabled, newly built veterinary practice chain in Germany aiming to become a primary platform for high-quality pet care, differentiated from traditional practices by digital processes and clinic-level equipment; described in coverage as a pet tech / pet care startup.
Newly built (de novo) practices rather than acquisitions; clinic-level diagnostic and surgical equipment within practice settings; integrated digital patient record, customer portal and app; video and in-practice consultations; and an explicit focus on veterinary staff working conditions.
Technology
Digital practice infrastructure including a digital patient file for animals, online appointment booking, and the my.filu customer portal plus a mobile app covering appointments, treatment and diagnosis history, pet data, invoices, lab results, first-aid guidance and chat. Clinical technology includes an in-house laboratory, high-resolution digital radiography, ultrasound, dental X-ray and inhalation anaesthesia.
Go-to-market
Direct-to-consumer through physical neighbourhood practices in urban districts, with online and in-app appointment booking, telephone access for urgent cases, a newsletter and blog content, and a waiting list for upcoming locations.
Pet owners, primarily of dogs and cats plus small mammals, in larger German cities; coverage describes young pet owners as the target group.
Geography
Germany, headquartered in Munich. Practices are located in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Hannover, Cologne, Munich and Waiblingen, with a sign-up list for notification of new location openings.
History
Filu raised a EUR 2 million seed financing round announced in November 2022, before opening its first veterinary practice in Munich in February 2023. A further EUR 5.1 million seed round was announced in November 2023 to expand operations. The company subsequently expanded beyond Munich, with an expansion to Cologne reported in January 2025. As of the current website, filu operates twelve practices in Berlin (Charlottenburg, Prenzlauer Berg), Düsseldorf (Pempelfort), Frankfurt (Nordend), Hamburg (Hoheluft, Winterhuder Weg), Hannover (List), Köln (Rudolfplatz), München (Schwabing, Theresienwiese, Wiener Platz) and Waiblingen.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Competitors · 5
by search overlap
Companies competing with Filu for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
Timeline · 4
launches, deals, and filingsCoverage reports the veterinary startup expanding to Cologne; the company's site lists a practice at Pilgrimstraße 6, Cologne Rudolfplatz.
Filu raised EUR 5.1 million in seed funding led by YZR and DN Capital, joined by existing investors Rivus Capital and Auxxo and family office Vimajo, to expand operations and business reach.
Filu opened its first veterinary practice in Munich in February 2023.
Munich-based pet care startup Filu raised two million euros in a seed financing round led by Rivus Capital, with the Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund and business angels also participating. Proceeds were earmarked for opening its first practices in Munich.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Filufilu.vet · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Filu do?
- German operator of tech-enabled veterinary practices offering emergency care, surgery, dentistry and in-house diagnostics.
- Who founded Filu?
- Filu was founded by Justus Buchen in 2022.
- Who are Filu's investors?
- Filu's investors include Auxxo, DN Capital, FELIX CAPITAL, YZR Capital, Rivus Capital.