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Greyparrot Raises Funding Against the Tide to Grow Their Recycling Technology

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Startups around the world trying to raise money have been finding things to be difficult in the last few months. The massive drop in venture capital funding, due to the coronavirus pandemic is threatening a whole generation of entrepreneurs. Studies show that funding for startups in the UK has fallen by over 83% between March and May. Therefore, a large number of early-stage companies have been negatively affected. However, amidst such glim news, one UK-based company seems to be going against the tide. AI-based startup Greyparrot was able to raise £1.825m in seed funding round recently. Here’s a look at what that means for the company and its future.

Funding Woes

Greyparrot aims to revolutionise recycling by utilising waste recognition software. Their most recent round of funding was led by Speedinvest, and the extra cash will fuel Greyparrot’s expansion. Speedinvest is a prominent early-stage tech investor, and the seed round also saw the participation of Force Over Mass. Their AI technology will help bring a lot more transparency and automation into the world of recycling. The company, based in the UK, has been growing from strength to strength in recent years, working in tandem with waste management companies across Europe and Asia. Their ultimate aim is to help digitise waste flow systems to ensure maximum efficiency. There has been a growing demand for such technology due to inefficiencies in the current system of recycling, increasing environmental regulation, and pressures from consumers.

Founder Mikela Druckman Headshot - Colour
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Digitising Recycling

The company raised £1.825m and will use this money to tackle the growing waste crisis. They plan on automating the process of waste management and recycling. The additional funding will help develop, scale, and optimise Greyparrot’s technology, helping them revolutionise the work of recycling through the use of artificial intelligence. Greyparrot’s software helps monitor and sort waste at large scales. Their initial product, an Automated Waste Monitoring System, is now helping recycling stations go through large amounts of scrap. The technology is deployed on conveyor belts helps measure large waste flows and automatically identify various types of waste. The system provides composition information and other analytics to increase recycling rates.

Need for Efficient Waste Management

Studies show that over 60% of the 2 billion tonnes of solid waste produced does not get recycled. Instead, it ends up in large dumps, landfills, and open spaces, causing environmental impact. As companies chase economic viability rather than economic prosperity, globally, the recycling rate is as low as 14%. Such a flat rate is mostly due to inefficient handling, high labour costs, and stringent quality requirements of recycled substances.

Greyparrot, which launched in 2019, has helped transform the waste management industry. In the UK, the year they were formed saw regulations such as the banning of waste exports to China come into play. This, coupled with the introduction of strict recycling goals and objectives, led to the transformation within the industry. Such laws brought forth an urgent need to recycle efficiently and locally. Furthermore, BBC’s TV series named ‘Blue Planet’ gave consumers concerns regarding climate change, which led to producers aiming for zero-waste-to-landfill goals. This made the environment conducive for a company like Greyparrot, which focuses on improving existing waste and recycling systems.

The company helps solve issues related to the lack of data by providing better insights that aid in transitioning to a more circular economy. The company has partnered with ACI, one of the world’s largest firms working in the recycling space. Greyparrot provides intelligent software that is highly-customisable and easily integrable with hardware available across the globe. Greyparrot will use the new funds to develop its product and scale globally to become the world’s most accurate waste management software.

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Greyparrot : Helping in Saving the World with Computer Algorithms

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With advancements in science and technology, making an impact on almost all spheres of our lives, humans as a whole, have realised that some of these impacts are detrimental. Environmental degradation has been one of the most significant adverse effects of industrialisation and globalisation. We, as a species, have come to a stage where we cannot ignore the ill-effects of such activities. With the polar ice caps melting, average temperatures around the world increasing, and mass extinction looking on the horizon, it is time we take our environment seriously. The best way to make our environment a priority is by leveraging technology, and there are start-ups like Greyparrot that are already helping us achieve that shared dream.

Mikela Druckman is the founder of Greyparrot, a start-up that provides computer vision-enabled products and services to companies that want to upgrade their Artificial Intelligence systems. The company focuses on helping the environment by improving waste management systems by using automation.

Mikela has a rich history in the field of technology, and had previously worked with computer vision and augmented reality. She had led several teams and has worked with multiple global brands, winning numerous awards for her projects. Mikela did her BSc in Management from HEC Lausanne from 2005 to 2009, wherein she was selected for the Erasmus Student Exchange program. As a result of this, she ended up completing her degree from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.

Greyparrot founder
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Following a Bachelor’s degree, she completed a Master’s in International Management from the National University of Singapore. At the time, she was also the winner at a Tech Entrepreneurship competition. She holds a Masters from the ESADE Business and Law School in International Management, where she served as the Vice-President of the CEMS Club. While pursuing her degree, she worked as an intern in the trading division of Pictet and Cie for a period of three months. She also served as the Project Leader of Junior Entreprise HEC for over two years.

While in Spain, she worked as a Junior Analyst for La Caixa for a duration of 10 months. After graduation, she was the Lead Strategist at Galixo; a position she held for over a year. Following this, she joined Blippar, where she played the role of Brand Partnerships Director for almost two years. Soon after, she became the Commercial Director and then Chief Commercial Officer.

While at Blippar, in 2017, she was hailed as one of the leading female digital managers in Britain by Campaign. In 2018, Mikela was also one among the Top 50 Women recognised by the foundation WeAreTheCity for her entrepreneurial work. Mikela served as the Chief Commercial Officer of Blippar, which is a UK-based tech company working on Augmented Reality and Computer Vision. She even won the award for “Best campaign of 2017” given out by DRUM.

Mikela commenced her career in banking, and later on developed a strong interest in technology, leading to her shifting to tech-based start-ups. In 2012, she joined Blippar and helped grow and expand the company by holding several senior commercial and strategy roles.

She was later appointed to the Global Future Council of the World Economic Forum. Through this role, she provides leadership related advice to technologies and companies that leverage AI and VR. She briefs and guides them on matters related to sustainability and governance of such technology. Being very passionate about technology’s impact on the environment and society, she gave her first TEDx talk on the future of mobility in 2012.

It is this passion that led Mikela Druckman, Marco Paladini, and Nikola Sivacki to establish Greyparrot in January 2019, intending to create a positive impact on both society and the environment. Mikela utilised her technical experience gained by working in the B2C sector and translated it into the B2B industry to achieve this goal. What resulted was a company that leveraged technology such as Machine Learning and Deep learning to sustain smart systems that improved existing waste-management methods.

Most wastes end up in a landfill, and most developed countries such as the US, Canada and UK send their trash to China for recycling. When China banned this practice two years ago; most companies had no clue what to do with all the waste in their hands. This is where GreyParrot steps in, using computer vision to power sorting algorithms that help segregate waste. It is interesting to note that the company was named after the African grey parrot, which imitates human behaviours as the company’s AI aims to do so as well.

After securing the required funding via pre-seed funding, they built a prototype in partnership with Middlesex University. They then went on to partner with a recycling facility based in South Korea to test their technology. Greyparrot essentially helps companies understand the different types of waste they generate, and also uses automation tools to sort the waste as per required standards. In 2019, they were a part of Unbound London, which served as an excellent platform for them to showcase their technology.

With the company providing several services and products such as Smart bins which can sort waste automatically, waste monitoring systems that check composition at every stage of the waste management cycle and automated sorting software that help in waste segregation in Material Recovery Facilities, GreyParrot seems well on their way in helping heal the world, one step at a time. Being a part of Forbe’s list of the UK’s most promising start-ups means the company is looking forward to changing the way the world handles waste!