EcoATM, a US-based automated system provider for recycling consumer electronics, has raised an undisclosed amount of venture funding from Coinstar following a personal investment from the Nasdaq-listed company’s chief executive in February.
Coinstar recently bought DVD kiosk company Redbox to expand the products it offers from automated drop-off points.
Founded in 2008, EcoATM scans used electronic devices, such as mobile phones and iPods, to gauge value and pay consumers before reselling them worldwide or reclaiming the components.
Gregg Kaplan, president and chief operating officer of Coinstar, said: "EcoATM could be a viable business as it provides an easy way for consumers to properly resell and/or recycle the more than $7bn in used mobile phones that are annually retired in the US while creating a sustainable secondary market for these devices."
In February, Coinstar founder Jens Molbak joined EcoATM as a board member and investor, alongside US-based venture capital firm TAO Venture Capital Partners, which led this first institutional round of funding.