Insider Brief
- METYCLE has secured new funding from 2150 and existing investors to expand its AI-powered metal recycling technology and global trading platform.
- The company’s proprietary sorting process enhances efficiency by determining metal properties in real-time, reducing CO2 emissions and improving recycling ratios.
- With rising global demand for recycled metals and a projected 15 million ton supply gap by 2030, METYCLE aims to revolutionize the secondary metals industry through smart sorting hubs and data-driven market intelligence.
PRESS RELEASE – METYCLE, a leading digital platform for international secondary metal trade, announced the successful closure of its EUR 14.1 million (USD 14.7 million) Series A funding round. The round was led by 2150 with strong continuous investment from existing investors DFF Ventures, Market One Capital, Partech, and Project A.
The company will use the new funds to develop further its data, software, and AI backbone for the metal recycling industry. METYCLE will introduce technologies to the secondary metals industry transforming end-of-life metals from heterogeneous products into highly specified global commodities. The investment comes after METYCLE’s exceptional growth since the last funding round one year earlier which will be further enabled by these developments.
Demand for recycled metals is surging globally in response to ambitious sustainability goals seeking to reduce the metal production’s carbon footprint, which accounts for 12% of global CO2 emissions. Targets such as the EU’s Critical Raw Materials act or Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation have set recycling targets, demanding improvements to current recycling and management processes. Concerningly, rising demand for high-quality scrap outpaces supply, with a 15 million ton deficit anticipated by 2030.
METYCLE’s proprietary AI-powered sorting process determines the physical and chemical properties of shredded recyclable metals in real-time — representing a significant reduction in manual labor and CO2 emissions as well as improved recycling ratios and material recovery. The startup’s ability to integrate market data alongside this sorting process into their digital platform enables those products with the highest demand to be identified from the outset, ensuring better resource allocation. The default process for managing and trading recycled metals involves lengthy, often inefficient trade routes to major hubs which incurs significant carbon emissions and delays. In contrast, METYCLE’s Smart Sorting Hubs are able to produce more efficient, direct routes for these materials, so that where possible they can remain within the local region.
“Metal recycling is crucial for the transition to a carbon-neutral world. Recycling does not only ensure circularity of metals, but also helps to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up 95% compared to primary metal production,” says Rafael Suchan, co-founder of METYCLE. “Today, already more than one third of global metal production is based on recycled metals and METYCLE makes the global metal recycling industry more efficient and transparent with the help of state-of-the-art technology.”
“Our platform is revolutionizing how secondary metals are traded globally,” added Sebastian Brenner, co-founder of METYCLE. “By rolling out METYCLE’s AI-based sorting and quality certification, we’re creating unprecedented transparency and trust in the metal recycling industry.”
“We were blown away by these incredible entrepreneurs,” commented Rahul Parekh, Partner at 2150. “Rafael and Sebastian are outstanding operators and we believe there is no one better placed than them to enable a circular economy for industrial metals and unlock the potential of urban mines.”
“Since leading their Seed round, we continue to be impressed by the METYCLE team’s exceptional execution, as evidenced by their impressive commercial success. We are pleased that this new round of financing enables them to deepen their smart sorting strategy and increase transparency, advancing the industry towards circularity”, added Philipp Werner, Partner at Project A.
Key Investment Highlights:
- Roll out of METYCLE’s AI-powered sorting, quality control and certification
- Expansion of global trading network and market presence
- Enhancement of data analytics capabilities for market intelligence
- Scaling of the team across technology and commercial functions
Founded in 2022, METYCLE has established itself as a leading managed marketplace for secondary metals, connecting collectors with metal recyclers and smelters worldwide. The platform handles the entire trading process, including quality assurance, logistics, and payment processing.
