Waterloo startup Scribenote secures $8.2 million to tackle vet burnout with AI scribe

The seed round led by a16z, including participation from Velocity Fund, set to expand the platform for veterinarians in Canada and U.S.

Scribenote, an AI-powered medical scribe that saves veterinarians up to two hours a day by transcribing their notes, has raised $8.2 million in seed funding. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with participation from Inovia Capital, undisclosed angel investors and existing investor the Velocity Fund.

Scribenote was co-founded by University of Waterloo alumni Alina Pavel (BASc ‘21) and Ryan Gallagher (BASc ‘21), veterinarian Dr. Katie Gallagher and veterinarian student Emily Merry.

Its software captures audio of conversations between veterinarians and clients and uses AI to automatically generate legally required medical records accurately — in just minutes.

Scribenote automates medical records, dental charts and various forms of client communication, allowing veterinary professionals to fully focus on patient care and building relationships with clients. By providing complete and detailed records of what was discussed, documentation struggles are reduced for an already overburdened profession.

“Scribenote is not just about saving time, it’s about improving the quality of veterinary care and the lives of those who provide it,” Gallagher says.

Scribenote’s clients in Canada and the U.S. have generated more than 1.5 million notes, saving veterinarians a total of 125,000 hours of notetaking.

Pavel and Gallagher started working out of Velocity, the University’s flagship incubator in 2022. The company has since moved to its own office in Kitchener to accommodate a growing team of 20 staff. With this funding they plan to further develop their AI technology and expand the platform, aiming to create personalized AI scribes for each veterinary client.

Scribenote built their product with pre-seed funding of just $250,000. Long term, the four co-founders and staff envision eliminating every unnecessary click and keystroke using AI scribing as a foundation.

“By being very cash constrained at the start, we learned how to really do a lot with a little, which means we’ll be able to do much more with the extra funding we have now,” Pavel says.