Waste treatment services firm US Ecology has led a $17m series A round for Smarter Sorting, a US-based provider of granular data for consumer products.
The corporate was joined by venture capital fund RTP Ventures and undisclosed individual investors, and Smarter Sorting has now raised at least $26.3m since it was founded in 2015.
Smarter Sorting has built a software platform that uses machine learning to record and manage data concerning the physical characteristics and make-up of individual products including their chemical components and how they react in different environments.
Chris Ripley, chief executive of Smarter Sorting, said: “By understanding items down to their chemical level and building software designed to optimise and simplify the use of advanced data, we enable retailers and other stakeholders to sustainably and accountably handle products.
“By doing so, we are creating a brand new era of responsible commerce. As a tech company whose mission is to cut waste and extend products’ life, we could not be more excited to continue pursuing our purpose in coming years.”
RTP Ventures provided $2.5m of a $5m seed round Smarter Sorting closed in March 2018, before the company added $4.3m from unnamed investors four months later. Its existing backers include VC fund Carbon Ventures.
