5 Interesting Startup Deals You May Have Missed: AI For Everything From Recycling To Breathing To Winning Construction Bids
figure — this is a monthly column that runs down five interesting startup funding deals that may have flown under the radar. Check out our previous entry here.
This month’s installment of this column is all AI, though applications for the technology range widely, from two startups that apply AI to trash or recycling, to another that promises to help people breathe and sleep better, to a company that says its AI can help architects and builders spot commercial projects before they’re even announced. Let’s jump in. $27M to help recycling plants see what’s in trash For decades, the recycling industry has relied on sampling and educated guesses to understand what moves through its facilities. But Greyparrot wants every discarded bottle, carton and wrapper to become data. The London-based startup said last month that it has raised a £20.3 million ($27 million) Series B led by technology investor Omar Mir. The company installs AI-powered camera systems above conveyor belts in recycling plants, then uses computer vision to identify materials, products and brands in real time. Greyparrot says that data helps operators recover more valuable materials, improve sorting efficiency and comply with increasingly strict recycling regulations. Its systems are now deployed in more than 20 countries and have analyzed more than 1 trillion waste objects, per the company. It counts large waste-processing companies such as Waste Management and Veolia among its customers. The data gathered at plants also feeds Greyparrot’s Deepnest platform, which it says consumer brands including Unilever, L’Oréal and Kenvue use to understand what happens to their packaging after consumers throw it away, helping to inform redesigns and comply with Extended Producer Responsibility rules in places such as Canada and the EU. The fresh funding will help expand the company’s footprint across North America and Europe and support its goal of preventing more than 1 million tons of waste by 2030. The raise reflects growing investor interest in applying AI in the physical world rather than behind computer screens. Companies in the physical AI sector raised nearly $47.3 billion in the first half of 2026, Crunchbase data shows, up nearly 80% year over year, as startups increasingly apply artificial intelligence to settings such as factories, recycling plants and other 3D environments. Related Crunchbase query: Global Physical AI Venture Funding In 2026 $17M to help robots navigate where GPS can’t For a recently funded robotics company, the next frontier for physical AI is underground: in mines, tunnels and other places where GPS doesn’t work. Australian startup Emesent said last month that it secured $17 million in new funding.
