Studies have shown that owning a dog has a positive impact on mental health, reduces stress and anxiety, and offers companionship and purpose to reduce loneliness. Therapy dogs are becoming more widespread, from people owning and training their dogs as therapy dogs, to workspaces and universities having pet therapy days to increase wellbeing and morale. However there is a new breed of therapy dog revolutionising wellbeing.

Enter startup TomBot and its flagship robotic puppy, Jennie. The robot was created for those in spaces where a real dog isn’t always practical or safe, inspired by a personal experience of Tombot’s Founder and CEO, Tom Stevens. The story begins back in 2011, when Tom’s mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

On Tombot’s website, Tom explained: “I’ve faced a number of tough choices in my life, but taking away my mother’s dog was among the most difficult. Nancy was always eccentric. In 2011, that quirky charm dwindled away. What was originally diagnosed as mild cognitive impairment steadily progressed to Alzheimer’s dementia. Not only did Nancy lose her ability to care for herself, she also trained her Goldendoodle puppy, “Golden Bear,” to be aggressive toward her caregiver. Golden Bear was Nancy’s best friend and primary companion. Sadly, rehoming my mother’s dog exacerbated her severe loneliness and depression.”

At the time, he didn’t realise this same experience was shared by millions of people who cannot practically or safely care for a live animal. This led to the launch of Tombot in 2017, with a mission to serve these individuals.

The robotic dog, Jennie, was crafted with the whimsical artistry of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, and developed with the guidance of clinical experts, patients, and their families. Jennie provides many of the health benefits associated with live animal ownership, such as reduced stress and loneliness.

Jennie will be used in private homes, assisted living and memory care communities, and other settings where live animals are not always safe or practical.

The dog is covered in sensors, allowing it to respond to touch, as well as voice commands, movement, and other sensory inputs. The puppy also includes recordings from a 12 week-old Labrador puppy to make Jennie sound like the real thing.

Jennie is rechargeable, fully cleanable, and comes with an optional caregiver app to customise behaviours and ease the burden of caregiving.

Most recently, in June 2025, Tombot secured an oversubscribed $6.1 million Series A funding round.

“Tombot is entering a high-demand, underserved market at the intersection of mental health and assistive technology,” said Tom, Tombot Co-Founder and CEO. “Over 300 million seniors around the world with dementia and mild cognitive impairment are unable to care for a live animal at a time when they need the companionship of a pet more than ever. Millions of other individuals suffering from mental health adversities are in a similar predicament.”

With participation from both new and existing investors, the round was led by Caduceus Capital Partners, a Nashville-based team of veteran healthcare investors with a primary emphasis on accelerating growth of early-stage digital health startups.

“We identified the growing need for robotic companions several years ago and believe the market is now on the brink of exponential expansion,” said Dave Vreeland, Senior Managing Partner, Caduceus Capital Partners. “By 2030, the US is projected to have 73 million seniors – an aging population that will increasingly face challenges related to loneliness, companionship, and chronic disease management. These issues are rapidly surpassing the capacity of human caregivers alone. Tombot is uniquely positioned to lead this emerging sector and drive widespread adoption of robotic companions."

This latest investment will be used to expand the Tombot team, finalise engineering, complete regulatory and safety certifications, and prepare its first robotic pet for customer shipments to its more than 16,000 pre-order and waitlist customers.

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