Humanity United is committed to building a world where modern-day slavery and mass atrocities are no longer possible. They support efforts that empower affected communities and address the root causes of conflict and modern-day slavery to build lasting peace.

Humanity United

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

Angel Academe is a fast-growing and award-winning angel investor network. The network helps female founders and co-founders who can already demonstrate some early success with their tech startup to access a unique pool of engaged, mainly female investors. Their investors are successful entrepreneurs, operators and senior leaders and they've collectively invested in over 45 startups and scaleups since 2014 through 70+ funding rounds, helping them raise over £100m from angels, VCs and family offices to continue to grow their med tech, clean tech, fin tech and enterprise software businesses.

Angel Academe

Merian Ventures makes Seed, Seed+ and Series A investments in women founded, co-founded and co-owned US and UK-based companies in blockchain, cyber, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and consumer-facing technologies. Our investment thesis is that an unintentional familiarity bias in the venture capital industry creates opportunities for investors willing to back female founders.

Merian Ventures

Digital Currency Group builds and supports bitcoin and blockchain companies by leveraging insights, network, and access to capital. Based in Stamford, Connecticut, DCG has been an active seed investor in the digital currency industry with 150+ investments in over 30 countries. In addition, DCG owns and operates CoinDesk, the top media and events platform in the blockchain space, Genesis Trading, the industry's leading bitcoin brokerage firm, and Grayscale Investments, the largest digital currency asset management firm.

Digital Currency Group

Provenance

Provenance is setting a new global standard for consumer sustainability. We are a platform that validates and amplifies sustainability credentials for consumer packaged goods, empowering customers to cut through the greenwash and make sustainable choices with confidence. Our platform enables businesses to be transparent about their impact from discovery to checkout, so that they can realise their sustainability ambitions and future-proof their market share. 200+ leading CPG businesses are using Provenance to communicate their sustainability credentials, including Cult Beauty, The Ordinary, The Nue Co, Shiseido, BELU, Arla and Napolina. Provenance is a mission-driven, independent B Corp; their vision is a world where citizens can make informed buying decisions that positively impact both people and planet.

<div>UK-based Provenance offers a blockchain-based solution for businesses to communicate the environmental and social impact of their supply chains to customers. Provenance gathers information from suppliers, verifies them through independent third parties, and records them on a public blockchain. This information can then be published on online marketing channels of the business (such as e-commerce product pages, sustainability pages, third-party retailer websites, etc.) using an embed code. In<a href="https://www.provenance.org/news-insights/provenance-launches-first-ai-tool-sustainability-navigator-to-give-marketers-tailored-sustainability-recommendations">September 2023</a>, the company launched an AI-powered tool, Sustainability Navigator, to provide marketers with tailored sustainability recommendations.&nbsp;</div>

New technology allows individuals and organizations to become carbon intelligent

Carbon Management Software

British company Provenance is a&nbsp; blockchain-based company offering a software solution that helps businesses provide consumers with transparency within their supply chain. The company provides its services under five areas such as climate, waste, nature, workers, and communities. Under the waste segment, Provenance provides software solutions and a platform that allows companies to maintain a set of standards in conducting operations and in packaging goods. In addition, the company also provides recycling solutions to businesses in the packaging sector.

Reinforcing recycling, rerouting refuse, and reducing wasteflows

Waste Recovery & Management Tech

<div>London-based Provenance offers a blockchain-based solution that helps multi-brand consumer goods retailers and beauty brands communicate and independently verify their social and environmental impact claims. Provenance first collects data from beauty companies in support of claims such as &lsquo;Net Zero,&rsquo; &lsquo;Vegan,&rsquo; and &lsquo;Fully Recyclable Packaging.&rsquo; The company then works with ~81 verifiers and over 20 certification bodies &ndash; including B Corp, Soil Association, Leaping Bunny, and GOTS &ndash; to independently confirm these claims on a public blockchain. Beauty companies can subsequently install shopper-facing &lsquo;proof points&rsquo; or badges verifying sustainability claims across brand product pages and platforms.</div>

The intersection of beauty and technology to deliver hyper-personalized products.

Beauty Tech

<div>
 
 UK-based Provenance offers a blockchain-based solution for businesses to communicate the environmental and social impact of their supply chains to customers. Provenance gathers information from suppliers, verifies them through independent third parties, and records them on a public blockchain. This information can then be published on online marketing channels of the business (such as e-commerce product pages, sustainability pages, third-party retailer websites, etc.) using an embed code. In 
 <a href="https://www.provenance.org/news-insights/provenance-launches-first-ai-tool-sustainability-navigator-to-give-marketers-tailored-sustainability-recommendations">
 September 2023
 </a>
 , the company launched an AI-powered tool, Sustainability Navigator, to provide marketers with tailored sustainability recommendations.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/6911">
 November 2021
 </a>
 , Provenance partnered with GANNI, a Danish fashion brand, to increase the transparency of fabric sourcing. In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7254">
 December 2021
 </a>
 , the company partnered with Valpak, an environmental consultancy provider, and Waste and Resources Action Program (WRAP), a British recycling charity, to launch a tool to recycle packaging.&nbsp;
 
 
 The company&rsquo;s high-profile customers include Unilever, Cult Beauty, Napolina and Arla, among others. As of March 2024, over 200 brands and retailers had worked with Provenance.&nbsp;
 
 
 Funding and financials&nbsp;
 
 
 Provenance&rsquo;s most recent funding was in March 2022, when it raised USD 5 million in a venture round led by Working Capital Innovation Fund and Nordic Eye.
 
 
 
</div>

<div>
 
 Circular IQ is a Netherlands-based digital platform that offers SaaS-based solutions for businesses to assess their circular performance through smart data-gathering and analytics. Circular IQ collects and analyzes supplier-specific data and provides tailor-made reports for businesses about the circularity of their operations.&nbsp;
 
 
 Circular IQ offers three main services 1) Circular Procurement Program, a service that monitors and reports the circular performance of a business&rsquo;s existing supply chain, 2) Product Circularity Improvement Program, a service in collaboration with KPMG to identify areas where the circularity of an existing supply chain can be improved, and 3) Circular Transition Indicators (CTI) Program, a service that supports and guides businesses through circular transition.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In March 2024, Circular IQ reported more than 2,000 CTI customer accounts in 94 countries. Microsoft, KPMG, Whirlpool, Saudi Aramco, Aptar, Rabobank, bp, Deloitte and Royal DSM were some of Circular IQ&rsquo;s high-profile clients.&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
 
 
</div>

Circular IQ

<div>
 
 Cloverly offers an API-based digital infrastructure for voluntary carbon markets (VCM). The Cloverly platform is used by both corporate buyers and project suppliers. Buyers can directly purchase carbon removal credits through its platform or integrate its technology into their products, services, or supply chains. Similarly, project suppliers leverage the Cloverly Marketplace and the supplier software, to manage commercial operations such as inventory management and tracking of carbon credit sales. The supplier platform offers carbon credits from suppliers including Therm, KOKO Networks and CarbonCure. For each carbon credit purchase, Cloverly produces a unique transaction receipt and certificate.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 Leading companies such as American Express, Salesforce, Visa, have added Cloverly to their platforms to facilitate the purchase of carbon offset credits. The online gift card company, Instagift, also allows its customers to offset emissions through Cloverly. In November 2021, Clovery partnered with Diversifi to launch a service that offsets the crypto-carbon footprint. In May 2022, Cloverly also partnered with 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11507">
 BeZero Carbon
 </a>
 to obtain third-party ratings and independent quality assessments and 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11506">
 Redwood Logistics
 </a>
 to measure freight emissions and offset those via carbon credits in July 2022. In November 2023, the company also collaborated with Sustain.Life, a B2B carbon intelligence startup, to supply carbon credits. As of February 2024, the Cloverly platform was used by over 300 global enterprises.&nbsp;
 
 
 Funding and financials&nbsp;
 
 
 Cloverly&rsquo;s most recent funding was in May 2023, when it raised USD 19 million in a 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18533">
 Series A funding
 </a>
 round led by Grotech Ventures. In July 2021, Cloverly raised USD 2.1 million in a seed funding round led by TechSquare Ventures. As a part of the transaction, Cloverly was also spun out from Southern Company, an American gas and electric utility where it was incubated.
 
</div>

Cloverly

<div>
 
 UK-based Giki offers two mobile apps to reduce the personal carbon footprint of its users:&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
 
 Giki Badges is an app that allows users to find sustainable and healthy products in supermarkets through 15 unique badges to UK supermarket products based on sustainability, health, and fairness. Customers can scan the product barcode to find the badges that are being awarded to the product. Giki Badges reported awarding badges to over 280,000 supermarket products.&nbsp;
 
 
 Giki Zero is an app that allows users to calculate and reduce the personal carbon footprint. Giki Zero estimates the personal carbon footprint of a user based on a lifestyle survey (a set of detailed questions about the user&rsquo;s lifestyle) and provides customized advice to reduce the user&rsquo;s carbon footprint. Giki Zero Pro is an extension of the same product for businesses which allows employees to monitor and reduce their carbon footprint.&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships&nbsp;
 
 
 In April 2023, Giki partnered with 
 <a href="https://www.compass-group.co.uk/media/news/compass-partners-with-social-enterprise-giki-to-empower-its-45k-strong-workforce-to-reduce-their-carbon-footprint/">
 Compass Group
 </a>
 , a UK-based food and support services provider, to calculate and reduce the personal carbon footprint of its employees. As of March 2024, Giki had worked with over 100 global customers, including NatWest Group, Federated Hermes International, BBC, Deloitte, Adobe and Accenture, among others.
 
</div>

Giki

<div>
 
 Canada-based Metrio primarily offers SaaS-based Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting solutions for businesses. Metrio allows companies to monitor their ESG performance in real-time using dashboard tools to create customized reports based on any standard ESG framework. In addition to ESG reporting, Metrio also offers ESG industry benchmarking, supply chain ESG monitoring, and ESG investment management services.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In June 2022, Metrio was acquired by Nasdaq. After the acquisition, Nasdaq integrated Metrio&rsquo;s SaaS platform into its suite of ESG solutions. Metrio continued to remain an independent company and brand after the investment. 	
 
 
 As of 
 <a href="https://www.metrio.net/en/clients#Our-clients">
 January 2024
 </a>
 , Metrio software was used by over 5,000 clients, including 100+ multinational companies across financial, food, manufacturing, retail, and transportation sectors. Major customers include Target, Air Canada, Decathlon, and Aldo.
 
</div>

Metrio

<div>
 
 Proof (formerly Proof of Impact) is an Impact-as-a-Service (IaaS) company based in the Netherlands. Proof offers a range of SaaS-based digital tools for businesses and investors to collect, verify, and analyze real-time sustainability data from community assessments, IoT devices, and corporate disclosures. The company also verifies and secures them using blockchain technology and presents them in a quantifiable form for sustainable decision making.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Proof&rsquo;s services include: 1) Digital consultancy&ndash;digital assessments to create and deploy a company&rsquo;s sustainability strategy, 2) Impact dashboard&ndash;an end-to-end solution to collect, verify, analyze, and report sustainability data, and 3) Impact Catalyst Cloud&ndash;cloud-based tools and API solutions for tracking, verifying, and investing in sustainability projects. Proof also operates a marketplace for sustainability projects where investors may directly select, and fund verified sustainable projects.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 
 
 In May 2023, the company 
 <a href="https://resources.proof.io/press-release-assetmetrix-and-proof-join-forces-to-offer-an-integrated-sfdr-focused-esg-solution-to-private-market-clients/">
 partnered
 </a>
 with AssetMetrix, a German-based next generation asset servicer, to offer an integrated solution for ESG data collection, reporting and optimization.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 
 
 Proof&rsquo;s most recent funding was in August 2022, when it raised USD 6 million in a 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12037">
 pre-series A funding
 </a>
 round led by Rakuten Capital. Previously in December 2021, the company raised USD 2.3 million in a seed funding round led by Altera Investments.&nbsp;
 
 
 
</div>

Proof of Impact

Solutions used improve carbon tracking transparency across internal and external business operations

Provides tools to monitor and offset CO2 emissions using reforestation, renewable energy credits, etc

Some carbon trading marketplaces are blockchain based (e.g., Nori)

Some carbon tracking companies use AI to measure and report CO2 emissions (e.g., Persefoni)

Pure-play software solutions that measure, monitor, analyze, and report carbon footprints from supply chains and other Scope 3 emissions.

British company Provenance is a&nbsp; blockchain-based company offering a software solution that helps businesses provide consumers with transparency within their supply chain. The company provides its services under five areas such as climate, waste, nature, workers, and communities. Under the waste segment, Provenance provides software solutions and a platform that allows companies to maintain a set of standards in conducting operations and in packaging goods. In addition, the company also provides recycling solutions to businesses in the packaging sector.As of March 2022, the company's platform was operational in 18 markets worldwide, including Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, serving clients such as Cult Beauty, Douglas, GANNI, Napolina, Arla and Unilever.&nbsp;Key customer and partnershipsI<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7262">n December 2021</a>, Provenance partnered with Valpak, an environmental consultancy provider, and Waste and Resources Action Program (WRAP), a British recycling charity, to launch a tool called “Recycle Router” to help consumers find out ways and places to recycle specific types of packaging by entering the postcode. In June 2022, the company partnered with its first US retail partner, Beauty Heroes. To expand in Europe, the company partnered with Douglas, the European e-commerce platform for beauty and health, in August 2022. In September 2023, the company partnered with Dotdigital, a marketing automation platform, to jointly support brands in communicating their sustainability efforts.Funding and financialsIn March 2022, Provenance raised USD 5 million led by Working Capital Innovation Fund and Nordic Eye to develop its software product development and supercharge the brand and its shopper reach.

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.&nbsp;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

AMP (<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/26429">formerly</a> AMP Robotics) uses robots and AI to sort waste by type. The company’s robots, called AMP Cortex, perform human tasks of sorting, picking, and placing material that businesses can recycle with help of its AI platform which identifies recyclable materials with a 99% accuracy rate. As of February 2024, the company has more than 230 deployments in more than 80 facilities robotic system in over 20 states in the US, Canada, Japan, and Europe.&nbsp;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 partnershipsIn 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 planning 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 financialsIn 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’s Climate Innovation </a>Fund, bringing AMP’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.

AMP Robotics

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

Reuses and recycles waste to keep them out of landfills

Solutions that aim to keep waste out of landfills

Provides sensor-based automated processes for waste management

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

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

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

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.

<div>
 
 London-based Provenance offers a blockchain-based solution that helps multi-brand consumer goods retailers and beauty brands communicate and independently verify their social and environmental impact claims. Provenance first collects data from beauty companies in support of claims such as &lsquo;Net Zero,&rsquo; &lsquo;Vegan,&rsquo; and &lsquo;Fully Recyclable Packaging.&rsquo; The company then works with ~81 verifiers and over 20 certification bodies &ndash; including B Corp, Soil Association, Leaping Bunny, and GOTS &ndash; to independently confirm these claims on a public blockchain. Beauty companies can subsequently install shopper-facing &lsquo;proof points&rsquo; or badges verifying sustainability claims across brand product pages and platforms.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 Provenance works with 200+ brands and retailers across industries.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customer partnerships include multi-brand beauty retailers such as 1) Beauty Heroes, to install over 700 proof points across over 200 products on the retailer&rsquo;s site (May 2022), and 2) Cult Beauty, to install proof points across over 110 brands and over 2,000 products on the retailer&rsquo;s site (November 2019).&nbsp;
 
 
 Provenance also has customer partnerships with beauty brands such as 1) Evolve Organic Beauty, to install proof points across 40 products (October 2023), 2) Pai, to install 300 proof points across 55 products and 4 e-commerce channels (June 2022), 3) Tropic Skincare, to install proof points across over 135 products and data on social and environmental impact with 20,000 brand ambassadors (June 2021), 4) SBTRCT, to install 6 proof points across 40 products, and 5) The Nue Co, to install 7 proof points across 50 products.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In March 2022, Provenance raised GBP 4.1 million (~USD 5 million) in a venture round led by Nordic Eye Venture Capital and Working Capital. The funds were used for product development and to broaden customer reach.
 
 
 
</div>

<div>
 
 Ipsy provides a subscription-based personalized bundle of beauty products. It uses an online quiz to obtain customer attributes such as skin tone, hair color, and preferred brands and uses its proprietary machine learning technology named &ldquo;IPSY MATCH&rdquo; to match products from selected brands with customers.&nbsp;
 
 
 Ipsy provides three customized subscription-based product bundle options: 1) Glam Bag (five deluxe-sized samples for USD 14 per month); 2) BoxyCharm (five full-sized products for USD 30 per month); and 3)Icon Box (eight full-sized products for USD 60 per quarter). Ipsy also enables customers to pick three products out of 12 recommendations, allowing the company to gain insights on customer preferences which are in turn used to improve its recommendation engine.&nbsp;
 
 
 Ipsy ships to the US, Canada, and Mexico with over 3 million active members as of November 2020. As of October 2023, Ipsy had over 3.6 million followers on TikTok and was claimed to be the most followed beauty brand on the platform.&nbsp;
 
 
 In November 2020, Ipsy acquired the subscription-based beauty product provider BoxyCharm in a USD 500 million deal, and, in March 2023, merged the two brands under Ipsy&rsquo;s brand portfolio.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 Ipsy&rsquo;s platform features various makeup brands from over 330 retailers (November 2023).&nbsp;
 
 
 Ipsy creates curated makeup boxes in partnership with celebrities and popular makeup artists such as the founder of the cosmetic brand Anastasia Beverly Hills, Anastasia Soare (March 2023), the American actress and singer, Vanessa Hudgens (July 2023), the british makeup artist, Pat McGrath (October 2023), and the American singer and songwriter, Gwen Stefani (February 2024).&nbsp;
 
 
 Key Competitors
 : None comparable (Ipsy is the only company in the hub that offers customized subscription boxes for an assortment of various types of beauty products.)
 
</div>

Ipsy

<div>
 
 Proven Skincare develops personalized products based on a custom formula that incorporates 45 factors about the user including environment, lifestyle, and skin concerns. Based on the identified skin genome profile, three multifunctional products are developed, i.e. a multifunctional cleanser/toner, a moisturizer, and a night cream/serum. Proven Skincare products can be purchased as a one-off or on a subscription.&nbsp;
 
 
 Proven claims that its proprietary &ldquo;Skin Genomic Database&rdquo; consists of over 20 million customer testimonials, 8 million online reviews, and data from over 4,000 scientific papers analyzed with machine learning and natural-language processing to identify the most suitable clean ingredients for each customer.&nbsp;
 
 
 The company also introduced a 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10097?industryIds=39">
 personalized eye cream
 </a>
 duo for day and night use in May 2022. Proven's skincare personalization process received a US 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11478?industryIds=39">
 patent
 </a>
 in July 2022. It introduced a
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/24527">
 personalized Serum
 </a>
 in November 2023 which leverages AI to determine the optimal skincare ingredients for each user.
 
 
 Proven Skincare 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11716?industryIds=39">
 expanded
 </a>
 into the European Union (EU) and the UK in July 2022.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 The company announced a partnership with Sephora in January 2023 to bring its personalized skincare solutions to 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16034">
 Sephora&rsquo;s
 </a>
 digital and brick-and-mortar stores.&nbsp;
 
 
 As of September 2021, Proven Skincare had 
 <a href="https://www.retaildive.com/news/how-high-is-the-ceiling-for-personalized-beauty-brands/606802/">
 over 100,000 customer
 </a>
 s, ~70% of which were repeat shoppers.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 From its launch in October 2019, the company had reportedly reached a USD 24 million average annual revenue within two years of operation in the North American market, with 80% of customers on a subscription-based sales model.&nbsp;
 
 
 In September 2023, the company raised 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22322">
 USD 12.2 million
 </a>
 in series A funding led by NewH2 Ventures to enhance its brand presence and expand its team.&nbsp;
 
</div>

Proven Skincare

<div>
 
 Function of Beauty is a developer of custom hair care, skincare, and body care products. The company initially focused on hair care and subsequently expanded its focus to skin and body care products in July 2020. Function of Beauty formulates custom products based on an online quiz using an algorithm capable of offering 12 billion custom combinations developed by the company&rsquo;s founders&mdash;a group of MIT engineers and data scientists including Zahir Dossa and Joshua Maciejewski.&nbsp;
 
 
 The company&rsquo;s products are vegan, cruelty-free, sulphate-free, gluten-free, and paraben-free. Its hair care products have a patented Adaptive f3 Bonding Complex. Function of Beauty&rsquo;s customized products include shampoo and conditioner (starting at USD 20 as of January 2024), body wash and body lotion (starting at USD 21 as of January 2024) and moisturizer (starting at USD 45 as of January 2024).
 
 
 Function of Beauty carries out product designing, development, manufacturing, and packaging in-house with occasional consultant feedback. Function of Beauty uses automated processes, including a robotic system for order dispensing. The system can use 20&ndash;50 ingredients per bottle. As of January 2024, the company shipped to over 48 countries including the US, the UK, Canada, EU countries, and several Asian countries.
 
 
 In August 2021, Function of Beauty acquired Atolla, a custom skincare product developer to combine its proprietary formulations with Atolla's patented skincare technology to offer advanced custom skincare products.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In September 2022, the company partnered with Canadian retailer 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13191?industryIds=39">
 Shoppers Drug Mart
 </a>
 to launch its personalized hair care products in Canada. In August 2023, Function of Beauty launched a new Function of Beauty 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21500">
 PRO hair care range
 </a>
 in 300 Sephora locations across North America and online.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In December 2020, the company raised USD 150 million in series B funding led by L Catterton. The funds were to be used to scale-up operations. 
 
</div>

Function of Beauty

<div>
 
 Hawthorne is a developer of custom fragrance, body care/grooming, hair care, and skincare products for men. The company launched with fragrances, introduced body care products in 2018, hair care products in 2019, and in January 2020 introduced custom skincare products. An online quiz collects information such as daily routine, lifestyle, taste, and familiarity with grooming products. That information is then analyzed using a proprietary data processing algorithm.&nbsp;
 
 
 Hawthorne claims that the algorithm can match customers with a product that suits their body chemistry, skin type, hair type, and lifestyle with a 97% accuracy. As of January 2024, the company&rsquo;s personalized fragrances were priced at USD 50&ndash;60 and skin and hair care products were priced at USD 17&ndash;21. The company ships to the US, Hawaii, and Alaska.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 Hawthorne&rsquo;s perfumes are developed in collaboration with award-winning perfumers such as Rodrigo Flores-Roux, Olivier Gillotin, and Quentin Bisch.&nbsp;
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 The company has reported annual top-line growth of 350% each year leading up to January 2020.&nbsp;
 
 
 
</div>

Hawthorne

<div>
 
 Prose develops custom hair care products and hair care routines based on responses to an online quiz. The quiz obtains customer information about hair type, current hair care habits, diet, stress level, physical activity and factors such as ultraviolet (UV) exposure, pollution, humidity, wind, and other 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9356?industryIds=39">
 micro-local factors
 </a>
 . The quiz also takes customer&rsquo;s preferences such as vegan or gluten-free requirements into consideration. The information is processed through Prose&rsquo;s proprietary algorithm to create individualized products. Prose uses a semi-automated approach to manufacturing where the production is carried out by a chemist with the aid of automated mixing and packaging.&nbsp;
 
 
 In April 2021, the company introduced &ldquo;Root Source,&rdquo; a hair supplement to treat environmental causes of hair loss. The product consists of two pills, a universal soft gel and a customized capsule, and, as of January 2024, was priced at USD 57.2. The product was developed based on insights derived from information collected through Prose&rsquo;s online quiz, which revealed that around 85% of the brand&rsquo;s customers experience hair loss. Root Source&rsquo;s clinical trials claim around 93% of users experiencing improved hair growth after taking the supplement for 90 days. Prose also introduced a 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12245?industryIds=39">
 personalized styling gel 
 </a>
 specifically targeting curly hair in August 2022.&nbsp;
 
 
 In June 2023, Prose expanded into 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19873">
 skincare
 </a>
 with an AI-powered system offering customized formulas based on individual needs, targeting multiple skin concerns, and addressing factors such as skin type, diet, stress, pollution, and climate while allowing fragrance and texture customization. The company claims to have completed over one million consultations in the 11 months leading up to November 2019.
 
 
 
</div>

Prose

Personalized beauty tech features brands that leverage AR tools for virtual cosmetic try-ons

Companies offer personalized recommendations and products based on individual attributes like skin and hair

Beauty tech features brands that leverage biotechnology to create sustainable materials

Beauty tech features brands that leverage IoT for smart devices

Beauty tech features brands that leverage blockchain for supply chain transparency

Beauty tech features brands that leverage robotics for at-home devices

Some companies (like Mink and Ellure) allow customers to print their own makeup

AI/ML is used for Big Data analysis, allowing companies to improve prediction capabilities for personalization

Companies that offer blockchain platforms to ensure transparency in the beauty industry (e.g. checking claims about ingredients, limiting misinformation, and promoting quality information on cosmetics)

Provenance

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Provenance partners with Valpak and WRAP to launch a recycling tool

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