Vancouver-based recycling startup ChopValue has added $4 million CAD to its Series A round, thanks to an investment from InBC Investment Corp.
In April, ChopValue announced it had raised $15 million CAD in Series A funding. A spokesperson for ChopValue declined to disclose the names of the investors in that round to BetaKit, but noted they included two high-profile tech entrepreneurs as well as corporate venture capital funds and other existing investors.
“The micro-manufacturing model is a viable blueprint to scale a circular future.”
Felix Böck, CEO and founder of ChopValue
With InBC’s new equity investment, the funding round now totals $19 million CAD, and the startup’s total funding now exceeds $30 million CAD.
Founded in 2016, ChopValue has created a system for recycling chopsticks from restaurants. The startup claims to collect over 350,000 chopsticks a week from its network of restaurant partners to prevent them from ending up in a landfill.
Once collected, the chopsticks are delivered to what ChopValue describes as micro-factories. They generate a composite material, which is made by pressing the discarded chopsticks together under high pressure along with a water-based resin.
The startup claims that the end material is stronger than traditional wood. ChopValue’s spokesperson told BetaKit the company has run mechanical property and durability tests of the material, and claimed ChopValue’s performance material has a density above 1,050 kg per m³, which they said exceeds the 600 to 900 kg per m³ range of traditional hardwoods like oak or maple.
That material is then used in furniture and decorative items for homes and businesses. The startup sells these products directly on its website. Products include tables, seating, wall decor, and shelf sets.
On its website, the startup claims it has recycled over 174 million chopsticks to date. Its end products can be found in various locations across Canada and the United States, including within the furnishings of Vancouver International Airport and select McDonald’s, A&W Restaurants, and Pacific Poke locations, among other businesses.
When announcing its initial close of its Series A round in April, the startup unveiled the Microfactory Venture Platform (MVP), a new parent brand designed to extend ChopValue’s model to other recyclable materials.
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Micro-factories refer to small-scale, highly flexible manufacturing facilities that typically focus on producing small batches of goods or customized products. Unlike traditional large-scale manufacturing plants, micro-factories are designed to be more agile, allowing for quicker production cycles and easier adaptation to new products or changes in demand.
ChopValue already has more than 80 micro-factories spread across more than nine countries, including in Canada, the United States, Mexico, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. The company is also opening its first micro-factory in Japan in the fall.
In its April announcement, ChopValue said MVP has acquired several intellectual property assets to manufacture from new resource streams, such as coffee grounds and apparel scraps. ChopValue’s spokesperson said MVP will “act as the research and development engine to support ChopValue’s strategic pioneer partners, with existing commercial relationships.”
In addition to ChopValue, MVP’s other brands include NoRock, which creates self-stabilizing table bases, and furniture manufacturer Jadon Inc.
In a statement, Felix Böck, founder and CEO of ChopValue and MVP, said ChopValue, despite its growth to date, is only tackling a small fraction of the global waste problem. “The micro-manufacturing model is a viable blueprint to scale a circular future and ChopValue’s value-added product engineering concept deserves to be scaled and live under its own brand: MVP,” he said.
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ChopValue and MVP aren’t the only Canadian companies using the micro-factory model. Montréal-based Relocalize, which closed $2.4 million in March, is piloting an autonomous micro-factory to produce a hyperlocal, certified plastic-negative packaged ice, on-demand for local supermarkets in Florida.
InBC is a $500-million strategic investment fund that was launched by BC’s provincial government in 2021. In addition to ChopValue, the fund has made investments in local tech startups such as 4AG Robotics and Clarius Mobile Health, as well as BC-based venture funds Pender Ventures and Amplitude Ventures.
ChopValue will use InBC’s investment to make key hires in its business development and design teams. According to its spokesperson, the startup currently has 50 team members globally, with an additional 200 across its franchise network. It plans to make three new hires by the end of the year.
“InBC’s investment is not only a testament of what we’ve built to date, but a powerful catalyst for our efforts and strategy to build a more responsible future,” Böck said in a statement. “It’s exciting to lead the way in rethinking our resources from a province that deeply values its environment.”
Feature image courtesy ChopValue.
