All the fundraising deals in the circular economy
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In our circular economy deck, you will find everything you need to understand the market
Over the last five quarters, 18 circular economy startups raised a combined $647 million in publicly announced funding rounds above $500,000.
Battery recycling led the way, capturing more than half of all dollars thanks to one massive growth round.
And if you want to better understand this new industry, you can download our pitch covering the circular economy.
Insights
- Q4 2025 accounted for 71% of all circular economy funding over five quarters, but 76% of that quarter's total came from just one battery recycling deal.
- Battery recycling and second-life storage captured $360 million across only two deals, making it the most capital-intensive circular economy category by far.
- Textile recycling startups raised nearly $70 million in Q1 and Q2 2025, signaling that fashion brands are betting on industrial conversion capacity over consumer-facing circular brands.
- The average deal size jumped from $4.76 million in Q3 2025 to $91.71 million in Q4 2025, a 19x increase driven by late-stage mega-rounds.
- Only two startups raised below $2 million in Q3 2025, and both were marketplace platforms solving supply chain fragmentation for recyclables in India.
- Regenerative agriculture attracted $52 million across two deals, with both Klim and Varaha focusing on farmer payment models tied to soil carbon outcomes.
- Momentum Capital was the only investor to back more than one circular economy startup, leading pre-seed rounds for both Recove and Beyond Renewables in India.
- Refurbishment and recommerce raised $61 million across Vutto and refurbed, showing that extending product life can attract growth-stage capital just like recycling tech.
- Solar panel recycling emerged as a new subcategory, with OnePlanet and Beyond Renewables raising a combined $7.6 million to address the coming wave of panel retirements.
In our circular economy deck, we will give you useful market maps and grids
Summary table of the funding deals in the circular economy (last 5 quarters)
We define the circular economy market as all activities that keep products and materials in use for longer and return them safely to the economy or nature instead of sending them to waste.
We include circular design, sharing and product-as-a-service models, repair and refurbishment, remanufacturing, high-quality recycling, bio-based and compostable materials, regenerative agriculture, and the digital, logistics, consulting and financial services that enable these loops.
We exclude purely linear "take-make-waste" activities, traditional waste disposal (landfilling and non-recovering incineration), and generic sustainability actions that do not materially change how resources and materials flow through the economy.
You can also read our detailed analysis to understand how funding activity in the circular economy has evolved over the last few years.
Also, you should know that we have a dedicated page, updated weekly, with all the latest fundraising deals in the circular economy.
| Name | What they do | Amount ($) | Quarter | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Klim | Helps food companies fund farmers' transition to regenerative agriculture practices | $22.0M | Q4 2024 | TechCrunch |
| Epoch Biodesign | Uses enzymes to break down hard-to-recycle plastics and textiles into reusable materials | $18.3M | Q1 2025 | Texpertise Network |
| Circ | Recycles polycotton textile waste into recycled polyester and lyocell fiber | $25.0M | Q1 2025 | Texpertise Network |
| Sheep Inc. | Traceable merino apparel brand using regenerative sourcing and repair services | $6.5M | Q1 2025 | Texpertise Network |
| DePoly | Converts PET and polyester waste back into virgin-quality raw materials | $23.0M | Q2 2025 | Tech.eu |
| Fairmat | Recycles carbon-fiber composites into new high-performance industrial materials | $56.0M | Q2 2025 | Tech.eu |
| OnePlanet Solar Recycling | Recycles end-of-life solar panels to recover valuable materials | $7.0M | Q2 2025 | Solar Power World |
| Reusables.com | Provides reusable packaging systems to replace single-use packaging at scale | $3.6M | Q2 2025 | BetaKit |
| Replenysh | Digital platform helping businesses route recyclables into verified recovery streams | $8.0M | Q2 2025 | TechCrunch |
| Mint Innovation | Recovers battery metals like lithium, nickel and cobalt using biotech processes | $10.4M | Q3 2025 | Reuters |
| PeelON | Makes compostable packaging films that extend fresh produce shelf life | $1.0M | Q3 2025 | Tech in Asia |
| Vutto | Refurbishes and sells used two-wheelers with standardized checks and financing | $7.0M | Q3 2025 | AIM Group |
| Recove | B2B marketplace matching plastic recyclable supply with recyclers | $0.64M | Q3 2025 | Economic Times |
| Redwood Materials | Recycles batteries and recovers materials for reuse in new battery production | $350.0M | Q4 2025 | Reuters |
| refurbed | Marketplace for professionally refurbished electronics with warranties | $54.0M | Q4 2025 | Tech.eu |
| Beyond Renewables & Recycling | Recycles end-of-life solar panels and recovers glass, silicon and metals | $0.6M | Q4 2025 | CIOL |
| Varaha | Runs regenerative agriculture soil-carbon projects and pays farmers via carbon credits | $30.0M | Q4 2025 | Mirova |
| SuperCircle | Full-stack textile take-back and reverse logistics for retailers | $24.0M | Q4 2025 | PR Newswire |
In our circular economy deck, we cover the latest tech updates shaping the market
How has funding activity in the circular economy changed over time?
Q4 2025 was by far the most active quarter with $459 million raised, but this was largely because of Redwood Materials' $350 million mega-deal which alone represented 76% of the quarter's total.
Q3 2025 was the quietest quarter with just $19 million raised across four deals, none of which exceeded $11 million.
Circular economy funding increased by 2,309% between Q3 2025 and Q4 2025, and increased by 1,984% compared to Q4 2024 one year earlier.
If you exclude the top one or two deals per quarter, the funding trend looks much flatter. Q4 2025 drops from $459 million to around $108 million without Redwood, and Q2 2025 drops from $98 million to $42 million without Fairmat.
| Quarter | Number of deals | Total raised ($) | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q4 2024 | 1 | $22M | Single deal quarter with Klim's regenerative agriculture Series A |
| Q1 2025 | 3 | $50M | Textile recycling dominated with Circ and Epoch Biodesign raising most of the funds |
| Q2 2025 | 5 | $98M | Fairmat's $56M Series B for carbon fiber recycling drove most of the activity |
| Q3 2025 | 4 | $19M | Quietest quarter with smaller seed rounds and no deals above $11 million |
| Q4 2025 | 5 | $459M | Redwood's $350M mega-round made this quarter an outlier for battery recycling |
| All quarters | 18 | $647M | Battery recycling and textile circularity captured most of the capital |
In our circular economy deck, we show you long-term trends so you can make better decisions
Which startups in the circular economy raised the largest rounds over the last months?
These startups raised the most recently in the circular economy:
- Redwood Materials raised $350 million because battery recycling has become critical infrastructure for the EV supply chain, and the company already operates at industrial scale.
- Fairmat raised $56 million because carbon fiber composites are expensive and hard to recycle, and the company has proven technology to turn waste into high-value materials.
- refurbed raised $54 million because the European refurbished electronics market is growing fast and the company offers warranties that make used products feel like new.
- Varaha raised $30 million because regenerative agriculture can generate carbon credits, and Mirova invested to scale soil-carbon projects across hundreds of thousands of Indian farmers.
- Circ raised $25 million because fashion brands need industrial-scale textile recycling solutions, and Circ is building the first plant to convert polycotton waste into new fibers.
- SuperCircle raised $24 million because retailers now need end-to-end reverse logistics systems to comply with new regulations and meet sustainability commitments.
- DePoly raised $23 million because the company can convert PET plastic and polyester waste back into virgin-quality raw materials at industrial scale.
- Klim raised $22 million because food companies want to fund regenerative farming in their supply chains, and Klim provides the platform to manage these programs.
- Epoch Biodesign raised $18.3 million because enzymes can break down hard-to-recycle plastics and textiles that mechanical recycling cannot handle.
- Mint Innovation raised $10.4 million because the UK government and Jaguar Land Rover are backing domestic battery metal recovery to reduce dependence on imported materials.
In our circular economy deck, we identify repeatable patterns you can use if you’re building in this market
Is the circular economy shifting toward smaller or bigger deals?
The average deal size in the circular economy over the last five quarters was $36 million, but this number is heavily skewed by Redwood Materials' $350 million mega-round.
Breaking it down by quarter, the average deal size ranged from $4.76 million in Q3 2025 to $91.71 million in Q4 2025. The jump in Q4 came from three deals above $50 million, while Q3 had two deals below $2 million and nothing above $11 million.
If you exclude the top deal each quarter, the circular economy average deal size drops to around $15 million, suggesting that most circular startups are still raising modest seed and Series A rounds.
| Quarter | Number of deals | Average deal size ($) | Deals below $2M | Deals above $50M |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q4 2024 | 1 | $22.0M | 0 | 0 |
| Q1 2025 | 3 | $16.6M | 0 | 0 |
| Q2 2025 | 5 | $19.5M | 0 | 1 |
| Q3 2025 | 4 | $4.8M | 2 | 0 |
| Q4 2025 | 5 | $91.7M | 1 | 3 |
| All quarters | 18 | $35.9M | 3 | 4 |
In our circular economy deck, we focus on making things as clear as possible
How concentrated was funding activity in the circular economy?
Circular economy funding is highly concentrated, with the top deal in each quarter capturing between 50% and 100% of that quarter's total. In Q4 2025, Redwood Materials alone accounted for 76% of all dollars raised.
This concentration pattern suggests that circular economy investors are picking category winners rather than spreading bets across many early-stage experiments. The top three deals typically capture 88% to 100% of quarterly funding.
| Quarter | Number of deals | % by Top 1 | % by Top 3 | % by Top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q4 2024 | 1 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Q1 2025 | 3 | 50.2% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Q2 2025 | 5 | 57.4% | 88.0% | 100.0% |
| Q3 2025 | 4 | 54.6% | 95.2% | 100.0% |
| Q4 2025 | 5 | 76.3% | 94.0% | 100.0% |
| All quarters | 18 | 54.1% | 71.1% | 96.4% |
In our circular economy deck, we track adoption trends and shifts in consumer behavior
Which categories in the circular economy received the most funding?
Battery recycling and second-life storage captured $360 million (56% of all circular economy funding) across just two deals. Redwood Materials' massive growth round drove this category, but Mint Innovation's government-backed project shows that battery metal recovery is attracting diverse funding sources.
Repair, refurbishment and recommerce raised $61 million across Vutto and refurbed. Both companies focus on extending product life through professional refurbishment, proving that recommerce can attract growth-stage capital when the customer experience matches new products.
Regenerative agriculture raised $52 million through Klim and Varaha. Both startups help farmers adopt soil-healthy practices by connecting them to corporate buyers or carbon credit revenue, showing that paying farmers for environmental outcomes is a fundable business model.
| Category | Number of deals | Total raised ($) | Startups and amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battery recycling & second-life storage | 2 | $360.4M | Mint Innovation ($10.4M), Redwood Materials ($350M) |
| Repair/refurbishment & recommerce | 2 | $61.0M | Vutto ($7M), refurbed ($54M) |
| Regenerative agriculture | 2 | $52.0M | Klim ($22M), Varaha ($30M) |
In our circular economy deck, we review the challenges and risks you might face later
Who are the biggest investors in the circular economy?
Momentum Capital was the most active investor in this dataset, leading two pre-seed rounds in India. Momentum Capital backed both Recove (a B2B plastic recycling marketplace) and Beyond Renewables (a solar panel recycler), suggesting a thesis around solving supply chain fragmentation in emerging markets.
Disclaimer: this investor list may be incomplete; we focus on publicly disclosed lead and prominent recurring investors, so some frequent minority participants may be underrepresented.
| Investor | Number of deals | Total funded ($) | Startups |
|---|---|---|---|
| Momentum Capital | 2 | $1.24M | Beyond Renewables & Recycling, Recove |
In our circular economy deck, we provide the data and the context to understand it
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