Regeneration.VC, the early-stage venture capital fund known for supercharging consumer-powered climate innovation, has closed a $7 million investment in its newest portfolio company, Smarter Sorting. This capital comes as an extension to the recent $25 million investment round led by G2 Venture Partners earlier this year.
Smarter Sorting ensures that products stocked on retailers' shelves move quickly, compliantly and sustainably throughout the supply chain. The data company's proprietary technology can classify 2 million consumer products across 3,500-plus data points and 150 million chemical compounds. By providing new data and insights to retailers and the brands they sell, Smarter Sorting ensures that products are safely handled, the environmental impact of the supply chain is minimized, fines are avoided and goods are diverted into the most environmentally friendly waste stream.
The company also maximizes donations to food pantries. Its product intelligence platform increases the volume and pace of donations from food retail partners into the hands of Feeding America's network of food banks for goods that can't be sold but can be donated, such as fresh produce, meat and dairy.
"Smarter Sorting is focused on using data and computing for a better world, and we are so excited to work alongside Regeneration.VC to help scale our environmental impact on making, marketing and moving consumer products more responsibly across the supply chain," said Jacqueline Claudia, CEO of Smarter Sorting, which has offices in Boulder, Colo.; Austin, Texas; and Los Angeles.
The additional investment will help the company further build out its team, digital products and data platform. Smarter Sorting's technology is currently employed at major retailers such as Costco, Albertsons and Wegmans.
"Smarter Sorting's approach sheds much needed light on the chemical composition in our everyday consumer products and can lead to better product formulation, more circular pathways for waste streams, [and] reduced emissions in shipping and handling of regulated products … all [of which enable] vital positive outcomes in the CPG and retail spaces," said Michael Smith, general partner at Los Angeles-based Regeneration.VC.