Skiptown raises $9M, targets 10-state expansion

What's the deal? Skiptown, formerly known as WaggleDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, has raised $9 million in a late-stage venture round. The funding, announced in June 2026, will bankroll new corporate and franchise locations across nine states.

The company also plans to keep developing its proprietary technology platform.

Why now? Skiptown is betting on a mix of company-owned sites and franchising to scale fast. The dual model lets it grow its footprint without shouldering every location's cost on its own balance sheet.

What could go wrong? Expanding into 10 states at once stretches operations thin. Franchising adds another layer of risk: maintaining quality and brand consistency across independently run locations is hard.

The pet care market is also crowded, and a $9 million raise leaves little room for missteps.

The signal: Skiptown's rebrand from Waggle, paired with this late-stage round, signals a company that has moved past early validation into "breakout stage" expansion mode. Its pitch — fully customisable pet care delivered through automated technology — leans on a proprietary platform to differentiate in a crowded market, with the dual corporate-and-franchise model aimed at scaling that footprint capital-efficiently.

Image credit: AI-generated image (Gemini)