In early 2024, co-founders Angela Le and Brad Pauer booked a trip to London with their miniature dachshund, Bodhi. After confirming with the airline that their dog could fly in the cabin, they purchased non-refundable seats. Days before the flight, however, a follow-up call revealed a sudden change: due to new regulations at Heathrow Airport, only service animals were permitted in-cabin. All other pets, regardless of size or breed, were required to fly in the hold.
When the couple asked for a refund to rebook through another airport, they were denied. The airline stated it was not a policy change on their end and redirected them to the U.K. government. After waiting on hold for over an hour, a government official dismissed their concerns, stating the airline was “just passing the buck.” With no resolution, they were forced to miss the flight—and lost over $3,000 in the process.
That experience became the catalyst for Kruiz, a new AI-powered travel platform that aims to modernize and humanize pet travel.
The Problem With Pet Travel Today
Each year, an estimated 75 million pet trips occur in the United States alone. Yet most major travel platforms continue to treat pets as an afterthought. Information on airline policies, pet fees, and breed-specific rules is often scattered across outdated websites, PDF documents, and unverified forum posts.
Kruiz addresses this longstanding issue by offering real-time, verified guidance for pet parents. The platform gathers and cross-checks regulations, airline rules, and pet travel requirements, then delivers personalized travel plans based on user’s data, and each pet’s breed, size, and destination. Whether flying commercial, semi-private, or planning a road trip, users can navigate the process with clarity and confidence.
From Frustration to Functionality: How Kruiz Was Built
Turning a personal travel nightmare into a working product required more than vision. To bring Kruiz to life, Brad and Angela teamed up with Sauradeep Paul, a seasoned software engineer and fellow pet lover. With a background in building consumer-facing apps and a deep understanding of the challenges in sourcing reliable data, Paul became the technical architect behind the platform.
Together, the trio combined lived experience, strategic vision, and technical expertise to create what didn’t yet exist: an AI-powered assistant specifically designed to solve the complexities of traveling with pets.
Kruiz was selected to join the Fall 2024 UC Berkeley LAUNCH Accelerator, where the team refined its product over a three-month intensive. At Demo Day, the company won the Audience Choice Award and quickly gained traction with early users. To date, the brand has partnered with over 10 pet influencers and launched a waitlist of more than 500 sign-ups ahead of its public debut.
What’s Next for Kruiz
The Kruiz app will launch officially on the App Store on April 14, 2025. The first version will focus on domestic pet travel within the U.S., with features that help users navigate airline policies, pet fees, documentation, and breed-specific restrictions. Hotel booking functionality is expected by June, with flight and car rental booking added later in 2025. International destinations are also in development.
Redefining Travel—One Pet at a Time
As pet ownership rises and more families choose to include their pets in major travel plans, Kruiz is positioning itself at the intersection of pet tech, AI, and hospitality. But the company’s core strength lies in its origin story—founded not by industry insiders chasing a trend, but by pet parents who lived the problem and built the solution.
For more information, visit www.kruiz.co or follow @letskruiz on Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn.
