Smarter Sorting, an Austin-based startup that creates granular, chemical-level data about consumer products, announced today that it has secured $17 million in Series A funding. This business development round was led by US Ecology, a leading regulated waste treatment and disposal company, followed by RTP Ventures and a group of independent industry experts. With a shared vision to use data and innovation to cut retail regulated waste by 50 percent, Smarter Sorting and US Ecology are also integrating their operations to bring first of its kind transparency to consumer products’ end of life management.
The new round of funding will help Smarter Sorting solidify its position as the leading retail waste management and compliance platform, but also push into a growth market by becoming the top solution for consumer product regulatory classification. With their existing foundational technologies, Smarter Sorting is uniquely positioned to transform the consumer product data market, providing customers with significant competitive advantages.
At its foundation, Smarter Sorting is the first technology company to manage and canonicalize granular product attributes including a product’s full chemical components, physical state depending upon environment, and effect on animals and the environment. Through machine learning that “codes” chemistry and regulations, this data is the foundation of Smarter Sorting’s Universal Product Database. Taken together, the data and the database permit regulatory classifications, product data management, and supply chain communication to be consolidated into a single platform. API-based integrations then enable manufacturers, transportation companies, and retailers to better create, ship, sell, and dispose of every consumer product on the market today.
Said Smarter Sorting CEO Chris Ripley, “by understanding items down to their chemical level and building software designed to optimize 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 couldn’t be more excited to continue pursuing our purpose in coming years.”
Smarter Sorting’s vision is to work with partners across the supply chain to wield the power of big data to help solve the product packaging crisis, to advance green chemistry and end the testing of cosmetics on animals -- while providing significant ROI to every partner.
About Smarter Sorting
Smarter Sorting is committed to reducing waste and creating a more sustainable future by maximizing the value of consumer products. It is the first technology company to create and centralize consumer product regulatory classifications, product data management, and supply chain communication into a single platform. Smarter Sorting envisions an economic future where data is used to cut waste and increase efficiency across supply chains.
