Whistle Acquires Tagg

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Whistle, the creators of tech products and services for pets has acquired Tagg, the Pet Tracker GPS system founded in 2010 as a subsidiary of Qualcomm. The deal integrates Tagg’s GPS capabilities into Whistle’s brand of app-enabled hardware products created to help provide solutions for pet owners.

“Our users have told us that they want location tracking for their pets,” said Ben Jacobs, co-founder and CEO of Whisle. “After an unprecedented pre-order campaign for a low-power network device last spring, we realized the need was both urgent and spread across the country. Acquiring Tagg, a fellow pioneer in pet technology, allows us to combine their unique GPS and pet tracking architecture with Whistle’s beautiful product design and user experience. This deal allows Whistle to deliver what the nearly 80 million pet parents in the U.S. want most now, and sets the stage for our brand to continue designing and developing new solutions at the leading edge of technology.”

Whistle also closed a $15 million Series B financing round led by Nokia Growth Partners (NGP) and joined by new investors Qualcomm; Melo7 Tech Partners, LLC, a fund co-founded by Carmelo Anthony and Stuart Goldfarb; and Queensbridge Venture Partners, founded by Nasir “Nas” Jones.
Whistle has raised $25 million to date. The new capital will be used to further develop the pet brand’s product line and support continued company growth. Existing investors, including Series A leader DCM and Slow Ventures, also participated in this round. Paul Asel, Managing Partner of NGP, will join Whistle’s board of directors as part of the deal.

“Whistle’s acquisition of Tagg creates the clear leader in the pet care market with a purpose-built solution to monitor a pet’s location, health and activity level,” said Paul Asel, managing partner of NGP. “As people learn more about themselves with health monitoring devices, it is natural that they would wish to learn more about other members of their family, including their pets. Whistle has assembled a strong team, technology and industry partners to uniquely address this opportunity.”