Avonmore Developments is the family office of Simon and Michael Blakey that focuses on investments into seed and early-stage businesses, primarily in the UK and Europe. Avonmore has been operating since 2000 and has invested in over 40 different businesses in over 80 funding rounds. Michael Blakey now runs Singapore-based seed fund Cocoon Capital (www.cocooncap.com) that invests in early stage businesses across SE Asia. Simon Blakey is a member of Cambridge Angels, Chairs the Investment Committee of Playfair Capital (www.playfaircapital.com) and is on the investment committee of the Angel CoFund (www.acfinvestors.com/angel-cofund/)  Avonmore's approach to deals is hands-on: mobilising other angel investors, working actively with entrepreneurs post-deal, and coordinating further funding rounds.

Avonmore Developments

Plug and Play is a seed and early-stage investor focused on great teams leading emerging growth companies.  Plug and Play runs 12 industry-specific accelerator programs twice a year, that acts as a platform for major corporations and high quality startups to connect and collaborate.  Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Plug and Play participates in Seed, Angel and Series A funding where they often co-invest with their strategic partners. Through years of experience and as part of their network, Plug and Play has put together a world-class network of serial entrepreneurs, strategic investors, and industry leaders who actively assist the firm with its successful and growing investment portfolio.  SEED ROUND. Plug and Play participates in seed round investing through a program called Startup Camp. Startup Camp is a 10-week program based in Silicon Valley for top-notch entrepreneurs to work intensively on building out their business model. Select startups will refine their business models and prototypes with help from a combination of structured workshops, speaker series and mentorship sessions, as well as active coaching from their investment team. At the culmination of Startup Camp, founders will have crystalized their business plans and pitched their company to the venture capital community at EXPO Demo Day.''  ANGEL ROUND Plug and Play makes angel round investments throughout the year, sourced from their monthly Plug and Play Angels (PAPA) sessions. They are partnered with local angel investors in Silicon Valley who participate in PAPA to find the most promising startups and best new technologies.  SERIES A. Series A typical Series A round is in the range of $2 million to $10 million, and is intended to provide operating capital for the company for six months to two years. This round capitalizes the company as it develops its products, performs initial marketing and branding, acquires talent, and conducts other early-stage business operations. It is in this stage that Plug and Play will co-invest with over 180 venture capital partners.  Plug and Play has helped grow market leaders such as PayPal, Danger, Google, DropBox, LendingClub, Zoosk, SoundHound, CreditSesame, Skytree, and has over 400 more early-stage startups in its portfolio.

Plug and Play

Ascension is an early-stage VC built by exited entrepreneurs to back the next generation of tech and impact founders. Run by an experienced and diverse team of successful entrepreneurs, we have been relentlessly dedicated to finding the UK’s best Seed-stage startups since 2014. Ascension benefits from the active industry connections essential for the sourcing and development of deal-flow and due diligence. The team has co-invested with the UK’s leading angels and VCs, key to securing follow-on funding as the portfolio businesses move to their next stage of growth. We believe in building an inclusive, community driven brand that can benefit the wider UK tech ecosystem and strive to work with conviction, integrity, humour, and humility.

Ascension

Possible Ventures backs ambitious teams building frontier technology to positively impact people and the planet. We invest in the early stages, actively supporting founders via our collective of global entrepreneurs. We're unabashed optimists when it comes to the power of technology to solve problems. And we invest our time and capital to help make innovation possible. We’re excited by technology ecosystems that are changing our future: the combination of AI, robotics and satellites that helps build new climate solutions and food systems; the convergence of blockchain and cryptocurrencies making decentralised finance possible; and new technologies like machine learning, genetic modification and synthetic biology that are enabling human health breakthroughs. We've harnessed the experience and networks of a global collective of entrepreneurs. Together, we discover and support great companies aligned with our mission. This armada of angels gives time and capital to 'pay it forward' to the next generation of founders in pursuit of a better world. We started this mission as Inventures. Our name has changed, but our collective approach and microfund strategy remain the same. We're redefining what's Possible.

Possible Ventures

Lowercarbon Capital funds research and invests in technologies to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere. The world has ignored the scientists, inventors, and entrepreneurs who are pursuing solutions to lower emissions, remove carbon, actively cool the planet, and save human, animal, and plant life.

Lowercarbon Capital

Amadeus Capital is a global technology investor that invests in technology companies at all stages, from seed to venture buyout; they also buy stakes from other investors or founders, to ensure that companies and entrepreneurs have the runway they need to succeed. They invest in a broad variety of sectors including enterprise and infrastructure software, consumer and business services, medical technology and healthcare IT, and cleantech and resource efficiency. It has the imagination to see where new businesses can be created and the technical insight, operational experience and global network to help entrepreneurs make their vision a reality. The Company was founded in 1997 and since has backed more than 130 companies and raised over $1bn for investment.

Amadeus Capital Partners

BoxGroup is an early-stage investment fund that invests in technology companies. The fund aims to invest in the consumer, enterprise, fintech, healthcare, life science, and marketplaces industries at the earliest stage, as early as pre-seed round and as late as Series A. It supports companies based on a conviction in the team and seeks entrepreneurs working at the beginning of movements in existing markets or new markets yet to be created and with visions to create the next generation of category-defining businesses.

BoxGroup

TVC is a transformational, early-stage venture firm backed by world class entrepreneurs and business leaders. Led by a seasoned team of venture investors, ex-founders, and investment management executives, we invest our capital, time, and network into highly defensible, fast-growing companies with the potential to solve the world’s largest problems. Our strategy is grounded on writing high conviction checks at Pre-Seed and Seed with healthy follow-on reserves through Series A; demonstrating deep value to enable increased ownership over time. Our experienced team is headquartered in New York City and London, but we are excited to meet founders from around the world with a strong preference for diverse founding teams. At its core, we believe that diversity is not only good for business, but great for financial returns.

The Venture Collective

MCJ backs extraordinary founders driving the transition of energy and industry and tackling the inevitable impacts of climate change. We discover and invest in startups rewriting industries to be cleaner, more profitable and more resilient. We strengthen our investments through the MCJ Collective — a vetted member network that connects talented tech and industrial leaders with our portfolio and with one another. Our media platform including the Inevitable podcast spotlights key perspectives critical to our portfolio and the transition at large, reaching tens of thousands of professionals multiple times per week. Learn more at mcj.vc

Epoch Biodesign

Epoch Biodesign develops natural solutions to scale and industrialize biology to solve climate challenges. Epoch Biodesign develops enzymes to enable previously unthinkable applications by combining unique insights from nature with deep expertise in computational and biological sciences. The company's solution is biorecycling, which is a tuneable enzymatic process that converts plastic waste into everyday chemicals.

Epoch Biodesign is a British startup that uses biology to design enzymes that convert plastic waste into chemicals that have low carbon impact and are circular. The company’s technology, Total BioDesign™, combines multiple disciplines to develop enzymatic processes aimed at industrial applications. After having emerged out of stealth mode in June 2022, the company noted that it was working toward developing and commercializing its plastic-eating enzyme solution.

Reinforcing recycling, rerouting refuse, and reducing wasteflows

Waste Recovery & Management Tech

Epoch Biodesign moves HQ into the City of London

Epoch Biodesign is a British startup that uses biology to design enzymes that convert plastic waste into chemicals that have low carbon impact and are circular. The company’s technology, Total BioDesign™, combines multiple disciplines to develop enzymatic processes aimed at industrial applications. After having emerged out of stealth mode in June 2022, the company noted that it was working toward developing and commercializing its plastic-eating enzyme solution.Funding and financialsIn June 2022, Epoch raised USD 11 million in a seed funding round led by Lowercarbon Capital. The funding will support the company in expanding its protein design platform, constructing new R&amp;D facilities, and further scaling bio-recycling.

Based in the UK, SEaB Energy provides clients with a waste to energy technology. The company sells two products called Flexibuster and Muckbuster that convert waste into energy. Flexibuster converts organic waste, while Muckbuster is designed to convert slurry waste. These are anaerobic digestion units which are containerized and can be easily bought and installed by any entity to get the required power Flexibusters are suitable for small and medium sized entities that produce between 500kg and 2,500kg of organic waste per day. As of June 2021, the company operates and manufactures its products in England, Portugal, and the USA.According to the company, one cubic meter of waste creates one household unit of electricity. The company helps customers by collecting a sample of their feedstock and estimates how much power its products can deliver by converting the particular type of feedstock. The company reports that its clients include fortune 50 companies, hospitals, non-profit organizations, property developers, and hypermarkets.Funding and financialsIn <a href="https://seabenergy.com/axon-partners-enagas-emprende-investment/">September 2022,</a> SEaB Energy raised an undisclosed investment led by Axon Partners Group to expand its solutions in Europe, Latin America and the US.

SEaB Energy

RoadRunner Recycling helps predict recycling plans for businesses (such as hotels, mills, warehouses) by using algorithms and Artificial Intelligence (AI). While helping them recycle their waste, the company also offers scheduled and one-off waste pickup services for businesses in the US.The company claims that the usage of its services has on average allowed a 16% saving in waste and recycling expenditures for customers and increased diversion from landfills by threefold.The company operates a shared-savings business model, where it generates revenue based on the level of the customer’s savings. As of October 2022, the company has diverted over 300,000 tons of material from disposal across 12,000 accounts, saving customers nearly USD 50 million on waste and recycling services.In October 2022, RoadRunner acquired Compology, the world's largest waste and recycling smart metering technology company.Key customers and partnershipsRoadRunner Recycling partnered with Avery Dennison (a label and packaging materials company) in September 2020 to launch a scalable matrix recycling program to help Avery’s <a href="https://www.packagingtechtoday.com/news-headlines/avery-dennison-launches-matrix-recycling-program-with-roadrunner-recycling/label-tape/">label</a> converters achieve their zero-waste-to-landfill goals. Some of the company’s key customers are Boxer Property, Forman Mills, and the PM Hotel Group.&nbsp;Funding and financials&nbsp;In its latest funding round in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14646">November 2022</a>, the company raised USD 20 million funding in its extended Series D round led by Fifth Wall. The funds were expected to support growth of the company's core business, expansion of enterprise offerings, and strengthening the investments in technology, thus improving sustainability in the real estate sector.

RoadRunner Recycling

<div>
 
 AMP (
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/26429">
 formerly
 </a>
 AMP Robotics) uses robots and AI to sort waste by type. Following the company&rsquo;s rebranding, it shifted focus from supplying sorting robots to building automated, facility-scale recycling solutions that incorporate AI and robotics. The company&rsquo;s AMP One-integrated sorting facility combines a number of AMP&rsquo;s modular solutions to deliver a material recovery facility (MRF) that requires no manual sorting. The facilities are able to autonomously sort multiple waste streams, including municipal solid waste, MRF residue, and mixed plastic waste into bales of materials.
 
 
 The modular solutions that make up AMP One include
 
 
 AMP Vision: 
 An AI-powered machine vision system capable of identifying over 50 categories of materials present in waste streams. The company claims it uses the world&rsquo;s largest real-world dataset for materials with over 75 billion data points.&nbsp;
 
 
 AMP Jet and Microjet: 
 An AI-based sorting system that leverages AMP Vision to identify materials and separates these two material streams simultaneously using two rows of 50 air nozzles. The system also uses AI to track the path of sorted materials and adjust jets. AMP Jet is claimed to be able to recover over 90% of target materials without human intervention. The Microjet is a compact version that can be mounted on the side of a conveyor belt.
 
 
 AMP Delta: 
 A robotic sortation system that uses AMP Vision to mechanically sort waste streams, reaching pick rates of over 80 items per mimute. Also available in Tandem (120 items per minute) and Compact (65 items per minute) variants.
 
 
 AMP Vac:
 A belt-mounted vacuum array that removes and collects thin film that can be used for pyrolysis applications. It is able to collect up to 120 picks per minute.
 
 
 AMP Insight and AMP SmartTons
 : A real-time reporting tool and system for tagging sorted bales, which can specify the exact composition and purity of the recovered material.
 
 
 The company reports that its plants are able to handle between 15 and 100+ kilotons of waste annually. AMP also has turnkey plants available, and claims it can deploy custom-built plants in as little as nine months. As of February 2024, the company has more than 230 deployments in more than 80 facilities and robotic systems in over 20 states in the US, and in Canada, Japan, and Europe.
 
 
 In May 2023, the company unveiled a complete line of 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18116">
 AI-powered automation solutions 
 </a>
 for materials recovery facilities (MRFs), including a new compact robotic sortation solution, AI-driven improvements in targeting and robotic gripping reliability, and integrated AI-powered facility solution.
 
 
 In November 2022, the company opened its new 84,000 sq ft facility in Louisville.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In September 2021, AMP installed its 
 <a href="https://ampsortation.com/articles/amp-robotics-installs-its-first-recycling-robots-in-the-united-kingdom-and-ireland-with-recyco">
 first AI-guided robotics
 </a>
 systems in the UK and Ireland with Recyco, a recycling and waste management business in Northern Ireland. In July 2023, the Kent County Department of Public Works (DPW) acquired three recycling robots from AMP Robotics. In March 2022, AMP extended its partnership with Evergreen, adding six robots in Riverside, California, and planned to add three more in Albany, New York, in addition to the existing six robots in Clyde. In June 2022, AMP expanded its partnership with its reportedly largest customer waste connections.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In November 2022, the company raised USD 91 million in corporate equity in a 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates?industryIds=54">
 Series C
 </a>
 funding round led by Congruent Ventures and Wellington Management. In May 2023, the company also raised an undisclosed amount from 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18384">
 Microsoft&rsquo;s Climate Innovation 
 </a>
 Fund, bringing AMP&rsquo;s Series C round to a total of more than USD 99 million. The company intended to use the funds to retrofit existing recycling infrastructure with technology solutions, as well as develop new infrastructure using AI-powered automation.
 
</div>

Redwood Materials was founded by Tesla’s former CTO to focus on e-waste recycling for remanufacturing and reuse. The company uses a proprietary technology to recover elements including cobalt, lithium, nickel, manganese and graphite from old battery cells (from vehicles and consumer electronics), which can be re-used for battery production.The company announced its first energy storage system recycling project&nbsp; in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23461">November 2023</a> — dismantling and recycling a 4MWh stationary storage substation in Kauai, Hawaii. In <a href="https://www.recyclingtoday.com/news/redwood-materials-launches-pricing-tool-for-ev-batteries/">October 2023</a>, Redwood launched an online tool with advanced tracking and management systems for automotive dismantlers to value and sell recovered EV battery packs directly back to the company.&nbsp;In September 2023, Redwood Materials acquired <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22008">Redux Recycling</a> to accelerate Redwood's expansion into Europe.Key customers and partnershipsThe company partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/5878">Ford </a>in September 2021 to build a closed-loop for battery recycling and create a domestic battery supply chain for EVs in the US. The company partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11597">Volkswagen</a> Group (Audi’s parent company) in July 2022 and Lyft in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14863">November 2022</a>, to recycle batteries while expanding its presence in the US.In January 2023, the company partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15516">Flite</a>, an Australian electric hydrofoil producer, to recycle end-of-life Flitecell e-foil batteries in the US. In April 2023, the company expanded its partnership with Volkswagen to launch a consumer recycling program for rechargeable devices and lithium-ion batteries. During the same period, the company partnered with e-bike manufacturer <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18071">Rad Power Bikes</a> to launch an electric bike battery recycling program.In October 2023, the company partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22440">Panasonic</a> to extracting high-purity nickel from end-of-life batteries and supplying it to Panasonic Energy, a subsidiary of Panasonic Holdings, by 2028. This partnership is preceded by the agreement to purchase cathode-active materials and copper foil for EV lithium-ion batteries in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14645">November 2022.</a>In November 2023, the company announced that it would supply cathode materials and copper coils for battery cells produced at Toyota’s North Carolina plant (due to go into production in 2025). This builds on Redwood’s initial partnership with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11217">Toyota</a> in June 2022, under which the company would refurbish/recycle batteries from hybrid vehicles.Funding and financialsIn August 2023, Redwood Materials raised more than USD 1 billion in a <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21369">Series D funding</a> round to expand its capacity, grow the domestic battery supply chain, and enable its customers to purchase battery materials made in the US for the first time. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16272">February 2023</a>, the Department of Energy (DOE) committed a USD 2 billion loan to Redwood Materials to construct and expand its battery recycling facility west of Reno, Nevada.

Redwood Materials

SmarterX (formerly Smarter Sorting) uses machine learning, algorithms, and a cloud-based platform to scan, identify, categorize, and sort chemical-containing products. This helps retailers and their suppliers get rid of unwanted chemicals, which Smarter Sorting will pick up to recycle instead of having them incinerated. The company also introduced a new regulatory platform in 2020 by partnering with a major retailer, to help retailers to ship and sell lithium-ion (li-ion) batteries sustainably, by providing them adequate support on regulatory requirements around li-ion battery products. The company provides its services in the USA and Canada.The company charges businesses a subscription fee per month based on the number of items they register for the sorting assessment.&nbsp;As of <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12053">August 2022</a>, the company had secured over 1,600 consumer brands and partnerships with 24 national supermarkets and retailers, including Costco, Wegmans, and Albertsons Companies. They claim their technology can classify 2 million consumer products across 3,500+ data points and 150 million chemical compounds.Funding and financialsIn August 2022, the company raised USD 7 million in a <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12053">funding round</a> led by Regeneration VC. This is an extension of the company’s previous funding round in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9315">March 2022</a>.

SmarterX

Startups offering platforms or software solutions incorporating technologies such as sensors, robotics, and AI to monitor and improve the waste collection process using several methods: identifying optimal waste collection time, connecting businesses and individuals with haulers, optimizing trash pickup routes, and increasing transparency in waste management throughout the production process.

Startups that separate waste by type, either by using robotics or analytics (AI, machine learning), to help streamline the recycling process.

Startups that develop recycling technologies or provide solutions such as AI-based online platforms or algorithm-based predictive solutions to primarily support businesses in their in-house recycling efforts.

Startups developing recycling technologies, including the pyrolysis process or a recycled propylene technology, to convert plastic waste into products such as pure propylene, recycled plastic, crude oil, and furniture.

Startups developing recycling technologies such as polymer recycling, flexible hydrothermal processing, etc., to recycle textile waste into products that include carbon neutral fiber or transform the waste into new products with greater value through upcycling technologies.

Startups developing recycling technologies such as lithium-ion battery recycling processes or a Magnet-to-Magnetä recycling process to convert electronic waste into products that include recycled batteries and cathode materials.

Startups developing recycling technologies to separate materials made by combining two or more materials with different properties (composite materials) and recycle them into secondary use raw materials such as aluminum, plastic, leather, and cardboard.

Startups using proprietary technologies to recycle waste (besides plastic, textile, and electronic waste) into harmless waste materials or into materials that can be used to make household goods, furniture, and construction material.

Startups using recycling technologies such as anaerobic digestion or a chemical process to convert waste into energy.

Solutions that aim to keep waste out of landfills

Waste management platforms use AI/ML for analysis and real-time updates

Develops waste collection systems such as sensored bins, monitored waste collection, and on-demand waste collection

Reuses and recycles waste to keep them out of landfills

Provides sensor-based automated processes for waste management

IoT-enable devices and platforms to manage waste and improve recycling rates

Epoch Biodesign

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