Glacier Raises $4.5M in Seed Funding

Glacier, a San Francisco, CA-based leader in AI-powered robotic waste technology, raised $4.5M in seed funding.

The round was led by New Enterprise Associates, with participation from former GE CEO Jeff Immelt, climate investor and former climate policymaker Sierra Peterson, and former Uber CPO Manik Gupta.

Led by Rebecca Hu and Areeb Malik, Glacier produces a recycling robot, a combination of AI and robotics–that sorts over 30 different item types. By increasing recycling rates, the technology is also instrumental in the fight against climate change.

Since its founding in 2019, Glacier has run multiple pilots. In early April, the company installed its first commercial robot at a large recycling facility in California. The robot is sorting eight target materials across two conveyor belts simultaneously. More installations are under contract, and the company is planning to scale rapidly to meet soaring demand.

Beyond robotics, the company is already leveraging its computer vision to power real-time waste intelligence, providing facilities and municipalities with in-depth insights into their waste stream composition, and identifying new opportunities for improved staffing and technology across the industry.

FinSMEs

20/04/2022