UK-based AI waste analytics platform Greyparrot has raised $11 million (£8,807,040) in a Series A funding round, which they say is to tackle the “data drought” in the waste industry and increase recycling rates and introduce accountability to the waste value chain globally.
Greyparrot says that it will use the funding to digitise the $1.6 trillion global waste management industry and power the circular economy.
The Greyparrot AI-powered computer vision system was created in 2019 and has analysed over ten billion packaging items in sorting plants. Greyparrot says it aims to increase recycling rates and introduce accountability to the waste value chain.
Funding is led by Una Terra, with participation from Closed Loop Partners, Unreasonable Collective, and SpeedInvest.
Greyparrot says the investment will be used to accelerate its vision to grow the company’s global footprint and expand to new waste types in heavily polluting industries such as construction and demolition.
Greyparrot is an AI start-up using computer vision technology to monitor, analyse and sort tonnes of waste at scale.
Greyparrot says that there is currently limited data on the 2.1 billion tonnes of waste produced each year, which means there has been no systematic transparency on its composition or accountability for how waste is managed.
Greyparrot says the investment comes as mounting regulation fuelled by consumer demand continues to put pressure on the global waste management industry to clean up the planet.
The AI waste analytics platform says its customers cover 60% of the waste management market, including industry leaders such as Suez, Biffa, and Veolia.
Suppliers of recycling hardware have integrated the Greyparrot AI model into their sorting machinery and robots, which Greyparrot says will enable the industry to elevate the performance of its sorting infrastructure with AI intelligence.
Co-founder and CEO of Greyparrot, Mikela Druckman, said: “Waste has been recognised as the fourth biggest contributor to climate change, yet the data surrounding it has been sparse at best. This is a huge missed opportunity.
“We are putting a monetary value on waste – something that is perceived to have a negative value. Providing access to granular waste data can also have a big impact at a macro level, helping to shape government policies around recycling and influencing the decisions producers make about their packaging.”
