RoadRunner Recycling Raises $28.6M in Series C Funding

RoadRunner Recycling, an innovative technology platform built for commercial recycling, announced it raised a $28.6 million Series C financing round. The round was co-led by e.ventures and Greycroft with additional participation from Franklin Templeton and existing investors, Adams Capital Management and FJ Labs. The funds will be used to double the size of the company’s current team, invest in its artificial intelligence/machine learning technology and continue its U.S. expansion in current markets and launch in up to 10 new markets, including Austin, Texas; Phoenix; and San Diego. In addition to funding, King Goh, principal at e.ventures Growth, will join RoadRunner’s Board of Directors.

In 2014, RoadRunner was founded based on an obsession to find a better way for businesses to recycle at scale. The company identified a massive void between market demands and existing waste industry service offerings. It developed a solution that infuses technology into the industry using proprietary data, marketplace dynamics and artificial intelligence/machine learning to drive customer cost savings, increase national recycling rates and improve service standards.

"The future of waste and recycling will be defined by technology and innovation, not by continuing to enable a legacy system. RoadRunner proudly offers a better way for businesses to approach recycling and waste management, and given the challenges traditional haulers are increasingly facing, it’s a good place to be," said Graham Rihn, RoadRunner founder and CEO, in a statement. "We want to provide businesses everywhere with a more effective and cost-efficient option for recycling. We’re a trusted partner to our clients as evidenced by our strong retention rates, and our goal is to help them achieve enduring success in sustainable waste stream management. This new capital will allow us to accelerate the growth of the company and empower businesses to be the catalyst for driving better sustainability in our cities and ultimately the world."

"RoadRunner has a clear vision for what the future of recycling will look like and has built an impressive offering driven by technology and deep recycling industry expertise," said Mathias Schilling, managing partner at e.ventures, in a statement. "We're confident that the next chapter will further establish RoadRunner as the innovative leader in the recycling and waste management space, and we look forward to working with RoadRunner and supporting its continued growth in a $70 billion market."

Since its launch, RoadRunner has made significant progress in a short amount of time, including surpassing 5,000 customers, facilitating the completion of 40,000 recycling routes, saving $20 million for its customers and diverting more than 100,000 tons of recyclables from landfill. According to RoadRunner, on average, a single customer location working with RoadRunner is able to increase its recycling rates by 10 times and recycle 8.6 tons of materials annually that were previously sent to landfills under its prior waste services provider. RoadRunner operates in 10 markets, including Pittsburgh; Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Baltimore; Houston; Chicago; Detroit; Dallas; San Antonio; and Cleveland.

PJT Partners LP served as the financial advisor and placement agent to RoadRunner Recycling in connection with the Series C capital raise.