EverestLabs raises $16.1 million in funding to support further AI-enabled operating system deployments
EverestLabs has raised $16.1M in Series A funding led by Translink Capital and joined by NEC Orchestrating Future Fund and existing investors BGV, Sierra Ventures, Morado Ventures, and Xplorer Capital. The funding enables the company to invest in its scaling and go-to-market capabilities, including further commercialization activities that build on its AI-powered RecycleOS operating system, robotics, and end-of-arm tools.
As part of this funding round, Kaz Kikuchi of Translink Capital will join EverestLabs' board.
"The materials recovery facility (MRF) industry represents a major market with a $9B opportunity in the U.S. alone, yet MRFs are losing billions in missed revenue from recyclables that end up in landfills or that could have been sold in bales to manufacturers," says Kaz Kikuchi, principal of Translink Capital. "EverestLabs' AI-enabled RecycleOS℠ solution has proven that it is uniquely positioned to solve this challenge, significantly improving MRFs' operational efficiency and cost savings, and alleviating labour shortage issues – all of which are critical as the recycling industry continues to evolve and play a key role in the future of global sustainability and the circular economy. We are thrilled to support EverestLabs' mission and vision to transform the recycling industry through innovative technologies."
Recent socioeconomic issues are further driving investments in AI and robotics to enable better material recovery within MRFs, including international policies such as China's National Sword policy that mandates minimal contamination in recyclables, changing U.S. national and state policies, high turnover in sorting jobs amplified by COVID related issues, and brand and packaging company commitments, in light of climate change concerns, to minimum recycled content goals in new packaging by 2025.
EverestLabs' value proposition has been validated by public companies, private companies, and local cities in the U.S., including one of North America's largest MRF, Sims Municipal Recycling Sunset Park in Brooklyn, New York.
"EverestLabs' mission to improve performance in our industry is welcome, and we are excited to see what the company will achieve," says Tom Outerbridge, president of Sims Municipal Recycling. "Since installing four EverestLabs robotic cells in our commingled recycling facility . . . in spring 2022, we've seen cost savings and improved materials recovery within a short period. We look forward to continuing work with EverestLabs to expand our investments in the coming months."
EverestLabs built RecycleOS to target recovery and decarbonization challenges. RecycleOS is a full-stack enterprise AI software and automation solution for recycling plants, CPG companies, and packaging manufacturers which increases the recovery of recyclables by 2 to 4 times more than manual processes and at a 3 to 4 times cheaper rate than traditional solutions. RecycleOS provides actionable data, enabling MRFs to confidently make strategic decisions about operations. Further, RecycleOS makes the tracking of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals and extended producer responsibility (EPR) an asset for every company in our ecosystem.
