A Boston-based startup has raised $4.5 million to expand its offering of genetic kits so that you can find out the genetic mix of your pup.
Embark was founded two years ago by Ryan and Adam Boyko, a computer science and biology graduate from Harvard and a genetics professor at Cornell University, respectively. They began with the launch of the “Embark Dog DNA Test Kit” that allows dog owners to see their pet’s pedigree, where their dog comes from and if they are likely to have a genetic variant of over 100 genetically inherited diseases.
The test costs $199 and much like human DNA tests, involves taking a cheek swab from the dog. Since the product became available in May 2016, there have been over 20,000 sales.
Embark says that they will be using the money they have raised to expand its offerings to pet parents, breeders and veterinarians as well as hiring more research scientists and expanding its engineering, marketing and customer service teams all while relocating their headquarters from Austin to Boston.
My Pet Needs That have put together the list of other DNA tests for dogs.
