Waste Robotics raises $10 million in funding to accelerate commercial development

Waste Robotics, a Canadian company based in Trois-Rivières that develops and markets autonomous robots for sorting centres, has raised CAD $10 million from Mirova and Fondaction. This investment aims to accelerate the company's commercial development and strengthen its presence in Europe – particularly in France and the U.K. – and in North America. 

Founded in 2016, Waste Robotics offers a solution for intelligent sorting by bringing together waste recognition technology, deep-learning algorithms, and robotic technologies to enable recycling centres to improve the quality of sorted flows and increase safety and profitability in their management of reusable materials. Waste Robotics wants to make sorting centres virtually autonomous due to A.I. technologies. The company's ambition is also to contribute to upgrading the work of sorters, who will move towards less dangerous, higher value-added tasks. 

Waste production continues to rise worldwide. Experts estimate that it will rise by around 70 percent by 2050, to 3.4 billion tonnes. Improving sorting processes and technologies is a major challenge at a time when 80 percent of the world's waste is still landfilled or abandoned and when developed countries are facing increasing regulatory pressure to take action in this area. The market for sorting robots is in a prime position to meet these multiple challenges. 

Keira Capital acted as a broker for Waste Robotics in this new capital injection, which follows a CAD $5 million investment by Fondaction and Fonds LCC in March 2021. 

"Our shared desire to make a positive contribution to the transformation of the waste treatment industry is what led to the creation of Waste Robotics," says Eric Camirand, CEO of Waste Robotics. "Now, thanks to the support of our key financial partners, Mirova and Fondaction, Waste Robotics can move straight into a crucial new phase, that of exporting to several key geographies."

"Waste Robotics' activity is perfectly aligned with Mirova's mission, which since its inception has favoured the development of innovative solutions with a positive impact on the environment," adds Joanna Parent, investment director at Mirova. "That's why we're delighted to support Waste Robotics in its development."