Exclusive: Circulate Capital closes $76M fund for plastic tech
A recycling facility in India run by Nepra. Photo courtesy of Circulate Capital
Circulate Capital, a firm that backs tech for combating ocean plastic waste, has closed a $76 million second fund to finance climate tech and recycling infrastructure in Southeast Asia, the company tells Axios.
Why it matters: The coastlines of Southeast Asia have emerged as a hot bed for ocean plastic pollution as developing economies in countries like India, Indonesia and Thailand urbanize but lack reliable waste infrastructure.
Details: Circulate Capital raised the funds from private investors like Builders Vision, an impact platform founded by Lukas Walton, Asian industrial company Jebsen & Jessen and Minderoo Foundation, a fund co-founded by Fortescue Executive Chairman Andrew Forrest.
- Circulate Capital's first fund, launched in 2018, was backed by corporations like PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, and Dow, and the firm now has $255 million in assets under management.
- Rob Kaplan, Circulate Capital's founder and CEO, told Axios that the new fund brought "private capital into the mix" to "maximize our impact."
- The fund has already backed four startups including textile recycling startup Circ, biomaterials companies Algenesis and Phase Change Solutions, and biotech startup Arzeda.
Big picture: Plastic waste is a global problem that requires a variety of different initiatives.
- Industrial companies need to replace single-use virgin plastics with other options like bio-based materials and recycled plastics.
- Regions need to invest in waste and recycling infrastructure, as well as next-gen recycling technologies like chemical recycling.
- More regulations are being introduced around plastic waste and recycling including the UN plastics treaty.
Editor's note: The story has been updated to reflect additional funding.
