Tractive GPS Pet Tracker

Key numbers

The product

Tractive makes collar-mounted GPS trackers for dogs and cats that stream live location every 2-3 seconds, support virtual fences with escape alerts, and log activity and sleep. A built-in SIM keeps the device connected in 175+ countries. Hardware sells near cost while the monthly or yearly plan carries the margin, turning a one-time gadget into a recurring service.

How they did it

Michael Hurnaus, Michael Lettner and Michael Tschernuth - engineers with Microsoft, Amazon and Runtastic backgrounds - started Tractive in 2012 after a friend's dog went missing, showing a prototype at CES 2013. Angel funding and a 2018 round from Monkfish Equity financed expansion, and a $35M round led by Guidepost Growth Equity in 2021 scaled North America. By 2024 Tractive passed €100M in annual recurring revenue with 1.4M active users, expanded into health monitoring and insurance partnerships, and was later acquired by Bending Spoons in a deal reported around $900M.

Why it worked

• A hardware-plus-subscription model built high-margin recurring revenue
• Solved an acute, emotional problem: a lost pet
• Global SIM partnerships enabled coverage in 175+ countries
• Continuous feature expansion raised customer lifetime value