Tractive

About Tractive

Tractive is an Austrian technology company that provides GPS tracking devices and a complementary mobile application for cats and dogs. The company was established in October 2012 by Michael Hurnaus, Michael Lettner, Michael Tschernuth, and the founders of Runtastic, including Florian Gschwandtner. The idea originated after a friend of Hurnaus's lost his dog, revealing a gap in the market for real-time pet tracking. CEO Michael Hurnaus brought experience from his time at Microsoft and Amazon, where he worked on projects like the Kindle Fire tablet. His co-founders also had backgrounds in mobile computing and research.

The company's business model is centered on a hardware-plus-subscription service. Customers purchase a tracking device and then subscribe to a monthly, yearly, or multi-year plan to access the full suite of features. This recurring revenue model is the core of Tractive's monetization strategy, covering the costs of the integrated SIM card and data usage. While the company reportedly loses money on the initial device sale, it generates revenue through these ongoing subscriptions. Tractive surpassed €100 million in annual recurring revenue in 2024.

Tractive's main product is a small, lightweight, and waterproof GPS tracker that attaches to a pet's collar. The device allows pet owners to see their animal's real-time location with live updates every 2-3 seconds. Key features include "Virtual Fences" (geofencing) that send alerts when a pet leaves a designated safe area, location history displayed as a heatmap, and activity monitoring. The application also tracks health-related metrics such as calories burned, sleep patterns, resting heart rate, and respiratory rate to help detect potential health issues early. The system operates in over 175 countries through partnerships with hundreds of cellular network providers.

Headquartered in Pasching, Austria, Tractive has expanded its global presence with offices in the US and Germany. The company has secured significant funding to fuel its growth, including a $35 million investment in 2021 led by Guidepost Growth Equity. This capital has been used to scale operations, particularly in the U.S. market, and for product development. In 2025, Tractive acquired the U.S.-based pet technology company Whistle.