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. That includes a $10 million equity round backed by Main Sequence Technologies, QIC Ventures, Orion Resource Partners, Hostplus and NGS Super as well as a $7 million venture debt facility from the country’s National Reconstruction Fund Corp. The company plans to scale manufacturing and expand its AI autonomy and cloud mapping platforms.
Emesent is best known for Hovermap, a LiDAR scanning payload that mounts to drones, vehicles or backpacks to create detailed 3D maps of mines, industrial sites and other hazardous environments. But increasingly, the company’s focus is software. Its Cortex AI platform enables robots to navigate autonomously in environments without GPS, while its Aura cloud platform processes and analyzes the resulting spatial data.
The company says its technology is already deployed at more than 200 mine sites worldwide and that it is expanding into the defense, critical infrastructure and construction sectors.
Its raise is another example of increased interest and investment in physical AI. As industries grapple with labor shortages and increasingly dangerous operating environments, startups that combine robotics, computer vision and autonomy are attracting fresh capital to automate work that’s difficult, dirty or unsafe for humans.
Robotics investment funding overall has been on a tear in recent quarters. Startups in the category raised $15 billion globally in 2025 — an annual record that has already been eclipsed partway through 2026 — Crunchbase data shows.
Related Crunchbase query: Global Robotics Venture Funding In 2026
$12.25M for AI that treats congestion with sound
We’ve covered AI that can do dirty work like help sort through trash or navigate underground mines. What about AI to help people breathe?
San Francisco-based medtech startup SoundHealth recently raised an oversubscribed $12.25 million Series A led by Shangbay Capital. The company develops FDA-cleared, noninvasive devices that it says use AI and acoustic resonance therapy to treat congestion and improve sleep without drugs.
The company said its flagship Sonu band personalizes sound waves based on a user’s facial anatomy to open nasal passages, while its newer Spatial Sleep device aims to help users fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.
The raise comes as investors continue to back AI-powered medical devices that combine software with regulated hardware. Companies that intersect Crunchbase’s AI and medical devices industries raised more than $629 million in the first half of this year, our data shows, up about 33% year over year.
Related Crunchbase query: Global Venture Funding To AI Medical Devices Startups In 2026
$3.85M to turn unrecyclable trash into fuel
Trash and recycling emerged as an unexpected theme in this month’s column. While Greyparrot helps companies better understand what’s in landfills and recycling plants, another recently funded company, Forge Industries, says it’s working to turn unrecyclable garbage into industrial fuel.
The Nashville, Tennessee-based company last month announced a $3.85 million round co-led by 8090 Industries and Next Phase Capital to commercialize technology that converts hard-to-recycle plastics and other waste into industrial fuel. The startup says its engineered fuel can replace coal in cement, steel and other heavy industries without requiring factories to modify existing equipment. The new funding will help it build its first commercial U.S. biofuel facility outside Las Vegas.
Global venture investment into cleantech-related startups has been steady but not record-breaking in recent years, Crunchbase data shows. Around $15 billion went into rounds for companies in Crunchbase’s cleantech-, EV- and sustainability-focused categories in the first half of 2026, putting this year’s funding on track to slightly exceed the 2025 tally, which was the lowest in several years.
Related Crunchbase query: Global Cleantech Startup Funding In 2026
$3.5M to predict construction projects before they’re announced
The biggest construction opportunities often surface months before the first request for proposals. Cascade promises to use AI to spot them first.
The New York-based startup last month raised $3.5 million in seed funding from Andreessen Horowitz’s a16z speedrun accelerator, Ada Ventures, Blitzscaling Ventures and others to build an AI platform for architecture, engineering and construction firms. The startup promises to give such companies an edge over their competitors by helping them discover projects earlier and identify the best path to winning them. Instead of searching public bid databases, Cascade says its tech can analyze signals such as bond filings, property transactions, capital budgets and meeting minutes to identify projects while they’re still taking shape.
Overall funding to real estate-related startups has trended higher in recent quarters, and the sector emerged as a bright spot for seed funding in the first half of 2026, an analysis of Crunchbase data shows. Other seed-funded real estate startups this year have spanned areas ranging from streamlining planning and building processes to real estate investing to reducing power consumption in buildings.
Related Crunchbase query: Global Venture Funding To Proptech Startups In 2026
Related reading:
- VCs Pour Billions Into Physical AI As The Next Wave Of AI Investing Takes Shape
- Sector Snapshot: Cleantech Startup Funding Stabilizes As Energy Demand Grows
Illustration: Dom Guzman
