{"id":11218,"date":"2026-07-08T17:47:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T17:47:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/?p=11218"},"modified":"2026-07-08T17:47:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T17:47:34","slug":"exclusive-fi-is-bringing-starlink-satellite-technology-to-dog-collars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/?p=11218","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive: Fi is bringing Starlink satellite technology to dog collars"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Jonathan Bensamoun has a 100-pound German Shepherd named Thor\u2014and a story every dog owner knows.<\/p>\n

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A few years ago, while in the Hamptons, his perfectly-trained shepherd spotted a family of deer. \u201cHe looks at me, looks at the deer,\u201d Bensamoun recalled. \u201cAnd he just bolted.\u201d For several minutes, Bensamoun was powerless. Luckily Thor returned on his own.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That moment is what Bensamoun built Fi\u2014a smart collar company that tracks pets\u2019 locations and monitors their health in real time\u2014to solve. Now the startup is launching the Fi Ultra, the first dog collar to run on Starlink\u2019s direct-to-cell satellite network, Fortune<\/em> learned exclusively.<\/p>\n

Every GPS pet tracker on the market\u2014from Fi\u2019s older models to rivals Tractive and Garmin\u2014relies on ground-based LTE cell towers to relay a dog\u2019s location to an owner\u2019s phone. The moment a pet bolts past the last tower, the tracker goes dark. Fi\u2019s partnership with Starlink\u2019s direct-to-cell network is meant to sidestep that. SpaceX has launched more than 650 satellites that each function like a cell tower in orbit, communicating directly with LTE-enabled devices on the ground. No dish, no special hardware\u2014just a clear view of the sky.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main limitation of all the tracking products out there is that they are using the LTE network,\u201d Bensamoun told Fortune<\/em>. \u201cStarlink obviously offers satellite technology\u2014kind of omniscient access, at least in the US for now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Ultra costs $199 for hardware plus Fi\u2019s existing $99-per-six-months membership. Existing subscribers only have to purchase the tech. Like all Fi products, the Ultra\u2019s battery life can last up to three months on a charge. The Ultra\u2019s battery is also managed by machine learning that conserves power when a dog is home or asleep, then activates everything the moment one goes missing.<\/p>\n

The launch comes at a telling moment for the category. Tractive\u2014Fi\u2019s Austrian rival that crossed $100 million in ARR in 2024\u2014acquired pet wearable company Whistle last August. It then immediately shut down the product line, locking thousands of devices overnight and handing displaced users nowhere obvious to go. Fi, which has raised $45 million total with its Series B led by Longview Asset Management, has spent the past year quietly expanding to 38 countries\u2014and is now dropping its most differentiated product into the gap. The company expects to cross $100 million ARR this year.<\/p>\n

The market Fi\u2019s competing over is growing fast. Pet wearables are a $3.8 billion industry in 2026, projected to hit $11.4 billion by 2033, driven by Americans who are having kids later and spending accordingly on dogs first. For Bensamoun, who got Thor before starting a family and admits he\u2019s bought his dog swimming lessons, that dynamic has always been the thesis.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe compromise between freedom and safety is something I\u2019m trying to erase with technology,\u201d he said<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

#Exclusive #bringing #Starlink #satellite #technology #dog #collars<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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