AMP Robotics – a pioneer in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and infrastructure for the waste and recycling industry – announced it has received financing from Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund. This latest funding round brings AMP’s Series C round, led by Congruent Ventures and Wellington Management to a total of over $99 million.
The investment in AI and robotics technologies reflects the growing demand for automation in the waste industry. Along with improving material recovery by boosting productivity, reducing contamination, and addressing labor shortages, advanced technology is key to meeting brands’ post-consumer recycled content and other sustainability commitments. And policy and legislative tailwinds are creating new opportunities for recycling, as more states pass laws raising diversion goals and establishing extended producer responsibility programs.
With the Series C funding, AMP is scaling its operations, including deploying technology solutions to retrofit existing recycling infrastructure and expanding new infrastructure based on its application of AI-powered automation. And the company recently unveiled a compact, AI-enabled automated sortation solution, AMP Cortex-C along with an integrated, standalone facility offering for waste management companies. Plus these developments follow the launch of AMP Vortex to tackle film contamination and improve recovery of film and flexible packaging.
AMP’s AI platform had identified nearly 75 billion objects in 2022 alone. And the company has deployed hundreds of sorting devices globally to increase recycling rates and landfill diversion.
KEY QUOTES:
“We’ve been fortunate to attract world-class investors based on the proven viability of our AI platform as a category-defining technology application for the waste industry, and we’re grateful for the investment from Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund. With its deep expertise and innovation in AI and broad involvement in climate, Microsoft brings an unmatched perspective to our work here at AMP. This new funding will further our efforts to improve the economics and efficiency of recycling and transform our industrialized global economy into a more circular one.”
— Matanya Horowitz, founder and CEO of AMP Robotics
“There’s an urgent need for solutions and ongoing innovation to address our critical waste crisis. AMP provides a powerful and scalable application of AI-enabled automation to help meet the world’s imperative climate objectives by extending the circular economy.”
— Brandon Middaugh, senior director, Climate Innovation Fund at Microsoft
