Business Express is an online portal that covers the latest developments in the world of business and finance. From startups and entrepreneurship to mergers and acquisitions, Business Express provides reporting on the stories that matter most to business leaders and decision-makers.The website publishes news, press releases, opinion and advertorials on various financial organizations, products and services which are commissioned from various Companies, Organizations, PR agencies, Bloggers etc. These commissioned articles are commercial in nature. This is not to be considered as financial advice and should be considered only for information purposes. It does not reflect the views or opinion of our website and is not to be considered an endorsement or a recommendation. We cannot guarantee the accuracy or applicability of any information provided with respect to your individual or personal circumstances. Please seek Professional advice from a qualified professional before making any financial decisions. We link to various third-party websites, affiliate sales networks, and to our advertising partners websites. When you view or click on certain links available on our articles, our partners may compensate us for displaying the content to you or make a purchase or fill a form. This will not incur any additional charges to you. To make things simpler for you to identity or distinguish advertised or sponsored articles or links, you may consider all articles or links hosted on our site as a commercial article placement. We will not be responsible for any loss you may suffer as a result of any omission or inaccuracy on the website.
iStock 1040872968 - Business Express

Greyparrot raises $11M Series A to accelerate the race to meet global recycling targets


Greyparrot AI Monitoring Unit Waste recognition system - Business ExpressMay 24th 2022, London: Greyparrot, the AI startup using computer vision technology to monitor, analyse and sort tonnes of waste at scale, has closed a $11 million Series A funding round. The investment, led by Una Terra, with participation from investors including Closed Loop Partners, Unreasonable Collective and Speedinvest will enable Greyparrot to grow its global footprint, expand to new waste types to include some of the world’s heaviest polluting industries, and double down on its research and development.

To date, there has been limited data on the 2.1 billion tonnes of waste produced each year and this means there has been no systematic transparency on its composition or accountability for how waste is managed. This goes some way to explain why recycling rates have remained at 10% at best. Despite consumers’ best efforts to recycle, poor packaging design and ineffective sorting means that much of what goes into recycling bins still ends up in landfill. Greyparrot’s investment comes as mounting regulation fuelled by consumer demand continues to put pressure on the $1.6 trillion waste management industry to clean up the planet.

Since its inception in 2019, the Greyparrot AI-powered computer vision system has analysed over ten billion packaging items in sorting plants to increase recycling rates and introduce accountability to the waste value chain. Its customers cover 60% of the waste management market including industry leaders such as Suez, Biffa and Veolia. The unprecedented data the company has gathered on product packaging is directly impacting policy and packaging design, enabling data-backed decisions to be made by stakeholders along the entire waste value chain. Additionally, suppliers of recycling hardware have integrated the Greyparrot AI model into their sorting machinery and robots. With this, Greyparrot enables the industry to elevate the performance of its sorting infrastructure with AI intelligence. 

Mikela Druckman, co-founder and CEO, Greyparrot 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.”

Don't miss out on any breaking news or insightful opinions!
Subscribe to our free newsletter and stay updated on the go!


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Global Banking & Finance Review. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email.

Biffa, a sustainable leader in the UK’s waste and recycling industry, is trialling the Greyparrot system at its Plastics Recovery Facility in Wigan. “The technology has the potential to give us great visibility into our operations and directly aligns with our vision of enabling a circular economy,” said site manager Ian McSpirit. “We’re using the systems to provide real-time analysis of the purity of our PET output material.”

Luca Zerbini, previously the VP of Sustainability at Amcor and now Partner at ESG-focused VC fund Una Terra, said: “Greyparrot is on its way to transform the $1.6T waste management industry and significantly influence the $1T packaging industry, enabling a feedback loop to FMCG players and providing EPR-relevant data. From the first meeting, we knew we wanted to lead this round: Greyparrot has a stellar founding team with a wealth of industry experience across waste management, AI and Machine Learning, a technology solution that works with existing infrastructure, and industry-leading customer satisfaction rates which is the best predictor of significant growth ahead”.

Ron Gonen, Founder & CEO of Closed Loop Partners, added: “Greyparrot’s AI-powered system has the potential to track billions of packages and materials in the recycling value chain which will lead to a number of major efficiencies. Their technology can integrate easily with existing recycling infrastructure, improving efficiency and material capture rates. Closed Loop Partners looks forward to working with their team as they grow their reach and impact around the world.”

Recognised as a technology pioneer by the World Economic Forum 2021, Greyparrot is the brainchild of three co-founders: experienced commercial leader Mikela Druckman, serial entrepreneur Ambarish Mitra and AI expert Nikola Sivacki. United in their mission to bring together the best tech talent in the world to address the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the coming year, the company is on track to double its team, deploy hundreds of Greyparrot systems globally and divert 30,000 tonnes of waste from landfill.

Recent Post: