ACME and The Danish Growth Fund capital will help Nordsense commercially expand its intelligent waste management system of AI-enabled smart containers, fleet management and intelligent routing
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Nordsense, a leading provider of smart waste management solutions, today announced it has raised $8.4 million USD (54 million Danish Kroner) in additional funding. The investment was co-led by U.S. venture firm ACME Capital and The Danish Growth Fund (Vækstfonden). Capital from the round will be used for global expansion of Nordsense’s intelligent waste management system, which aims to clean up the waste sector by eliminating thousands of tons of CO2 vehicle emissions and deploying smart containers that monitor levels for more precise collection times to avoid unattractive, overflowing bins with long wait times for pick-up.
Studies show that nearly 90% of the world’s waste is collected at the wrong time. When collection trucks are too late, overflowing containers can lead to illegal dumping or require additional cleaning and collection costs. If a truck is too early, containers aren’t full, wasting time, resources and money. Nordsense’s system for cities, waste operators and trash haulers leverages AI and machine learning to streamline routes for faster, more environmentally friendly collection. Intelligent sensors are used to measure the fullness of a container to predict when it should be emptied.
“We are committed to making the waste sector greener, which not only means more efficient, but also creates a better work environment and solves the widespread problem of pollution. Optimizing waste management makes good business sense for the cities that use our solution,” says Anders Engdal, CEO of Nordsense.
Nordsense’s system can reduce CO2 emissions of waste management vehicles by 50%, lessens noise pollution and decreases traffic congestion. In San Francisco, the technology was deployed in a citywide project, which led to an 80% decrease in overflowing containers, 66% reduction in street cleaning requests and 64% less illegal dumping.
ACME’s investment in Nordsense is the first time the firm has funded a startup based in Europe. Nordsense met the firm’s investment criteria of creating disruptive technology that will change the way we live, learn and work.
“ACME is excited to make our first investment in Europe and I’m happy to have the opportunity to support a high-impact company in our local Danish ecosystem alongside Vækstfonden. We believe the convergence of sensors, data and software will allow us to create smarter and more resilient systems – which is exactly what Nordsense is doing for the waste category,” said Christian Tang-Jespersen, Partner, ACME Capital. “We look forward to working with the team as they continue to scale sustainable and efficient waste collection globally.”
Vækstfonden finances companies developing tomorrow’s green solutions and bringing them to the world market. “The waste sector has great green potential if we manage to utilize the value it contains and at the same time ensure a smarter system around waste management. Nordsense does that,” said Rolf Kjærgaard, CEO of Vækstfonden. “We are pleased that ACME is investing in a Danish company for the first time. At Vækstfonden, we want to be a lever for international capital, and so it is very gratifying that we, together with CME, can finance Nordsense’s further development.”
About Nordsense
Nordsense has developed a groundbreaking waste platform that will revolutionize the way we handle and collect waste today. With the help of data and machine learning, Nordsense creates a smarter waste management system that provides a better working environment, less waste and pollution and contributes positively to the climate accounts by creating a more efficient waste sector. For more information, go to: https://nordsense.com/
About ACME
ACME is a San Francisco based early-stage venture capital firm investing in breakthrough enabling technologies and business model innovations disrupting massive sectors. We partner with entrepreneurs around the world who work with significant technologies making a positive impact for the consumers of the future. For more information, go to: https://www.acme.vc/
About the Danish Growth Fund (Vækstfonden)
Vækstfonden is the state’s financing fund, which works to strengthen Danish companies’ access to venture capital so that they can create new innovation, growth and jobs. In close partnerships with banks and private investors from home and abroad, Vækstfonden finances companies in all industries across the country. And the fund can be with us all the way – from the company’s infancy, through high growth, to the journey into the global markets and IPOs. Since 1992, Vækstfonden has co-financed growth in more than 8,500 companies for a total commitment of more than DKK 27.3 billion. Kr. For more information, go to: https://vaekstfonden.com/
Media contacts
For Nordsense:
Signe Ørvad, Digital Marketing Manager
+45 26 71 23 09
signe@nordsense.com
For Vækstfonden:
Cecilie Idun Andersen, Communications Advisor
+45 31 93 05 73
cea@vf.dk
For ACME:
Liz Keen, Head of Brand and Communications
310-903-0677
liz@acme.vc