The loss of a pet is traumatic. But Sabrina Chu, Founder and CEO of PetWell HK Limited, turned the tragic loss of her pet into an initiative aimed at benefitting all pet owners in Hong Kong.
“About 10 years ago, I lost my beloved dog. The vet told me that if I had brought her in earlier, she might have lived.”
“I blamed myself, but what struck me even more was realising I had forgotten that my dog had had surgery years earlier, until my dad reminded me. If I couldn't even remember something that significant, how could I expect to catch the smaller, early warning signs?”
Ms Chu founded the company in 2024, then launched the PetWell HK app a year later – an all-in-one pet lifestyle app combining vet clinic search, health records, AI health scanning, price comparison, pet-friendly restaurants and malls and a pet owner community – with the goal of becoming Hong Kong's eHealth platform for pets.
Although she knew the idea was sound, Ms Chu admitted that she almost gave up during PetWell’s first year. She had sent hundreds of emails to clinics trying to get them on board, but received close to zero replies and at one point was told to just give up.
Frustrated, she started an internship position at a bank and was prepared to walk away from PetWell, when a senior colleague encouraged her to redouble her efforts to fulfil her dream.
“I pivoted, and PetWell started coming together from there.”
“I suddenly had to learn things I had never done before: marketing, running community events, designing the app’s UI and marketing”, remarked Ms Chu. “With a small team and no big marketing budget, we leaned heavily on organic content, SEO and word of mouth through our community forum and offline events, rather than paid ads. Growth has been slower, but that means the growth we do have is real and sticky, not bought.”
PetWell began as a solution to the structural problem of low transparency and fragmented medical records in the veterinary industry. To address this, the start-up’s health management ecosystem aims to offer comprehensive support to pet owners:
- an owner app with daily health tracking and AI detection
- a SaaS CRM built directly with clinics to streamline care rather than just administration
- a nutrition and price comparison platform
Since the app’s launch in 2025, PetWell has grown to over 10,000 registered pets and downloads, with listings for 200+ vet clinics and 1,000+ pet friendly restaurants.
Looking ahead, the pet healthcare start-up will scale its premium AI health subscription and transitioning further into B2B2C, such as expanding its clinic network and exploring insurance data partnerships, to provide seamless digital health records that follow the pet throughout their lifetime to prevent diagnostic delays.
“Our primary focus is on pet owners and veterinary clinics in Hong Kong,” stated Ms Chu. “Over the next one to two years, we plan to solidify our dominance in Hong Kong by expanding our premium AI features and clinic SaaS adoption before exploring expansion into the Greater Bay Area and other international markets.”
And the Hong Kong Trade Development Council’s Start-up Express will enable PetWell, part of the programme’s 2026 winning cohort, to take its next steps with confidence.
The start-up learned about the entrepreneurship development programme through the vibrant Hong Kong start-up ecosystem and its connections at the HKUST Entrepreneurship Center.
“Being part of the Start-Up Express programme provides PetWell with invaluable exposure to international investors, potential B2B partners and media. The mentorship and networking opportunities will help us refine our commercialisation strategy and accelerate our expansion plans beyond Hong Kong,” concluded Ms Chu.