Recycling today sort of sucks. Persons are generally confused about what might be recycled and where. Because of this, only about 32% of eligible waste actually gets recycled.
It could be rather a lot easier if people could dump every thing into one bin and let the waste-management firms cope with it, but that’s proven to be too expensive with humans within the loop.
Enter robots. Myriad firms, from small startups like Glacier to large multinationals like Apple, have been working to automate recycling. Most of that work has centered on the robots, placing them in existing facilities to assist humans recuperate more waste.
More recently, Amp Robotics, an early entrant, modified its business model to give attention to running entire facilities. That shift has now netted the corporate $91 million in fresh funding.
The last decade-old company has deployed around 400 robots, and it operates three facilities with one other within the works. Firms can specify what number of sorting modules depending on how much trash they should sort or which material they’re on the lookout for. Inside, cameras watch the flow of trash, using AI to discover what might be recycled, and robotic arms pluck bits from the conveyor belt.
Amp handles operations, maintenance, and upgrades, with the contracting company handling waste sourcing, offtake of any worthwhile materials, and disposal of anything that may’t be recycled. It’s principally one other “as a service” business model, with the corporate charging per ton of waste sorted.
The brand new funding round, a Series D, was led by Congruent Ventures with participation from Blue Earth Capital, California State Teachers Retirement System, Liberty Mutual Investments, Wellington Management, Range Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Tao Capital Partners, and XN.
The round is a bit smaller than Amp’s Series C, which after additions ended up raising $104 million, per SEC filings, highlighting the difficult fundraising environment that many mid- to late-stage startups face.
