February 16, 2011 source: ecoATM
Coinstar and Claremont Creek Ventures co-Lead Series A investment in ecoATM™
San Diego, Calif., February16, 2011 – ecoATM, the award-winning San Diego start-up known for its commitment to the environment and its innovative kiosks that buy-back and recycle consumer electronics, today announced it has closed the first round of its Series A preferred stock offering.
Coinstar, Inc. and Claremont Creek led the financing. In addition, other outstanding notes were converted to Series A. Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) will also provide a significant amount of venture debt to the company. The aggregate amount raised is $14.4 million. The funds will be used for commercialization and product launch.
Randy Hawks, Managing Director at Claremont Creek Ventures, and Gary Cohen, Senior Vice President, Marketing & Customer Experience at Redbox, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Coinstar, Inc., will join the ecoATM board of directors.
ecoATM Incentivizes Consumers to Recycle Electronic Devices
According to the Consumer Electronics Association, U.S. consumers collectively buy about 500 million new electronic gadgets each year. Upgrade cycles grow shorter as gadget manufacturers tempt consumers with new features. The average U.S. household now owns 26 different consumer electronic devices for a staggering total of nearly 3 billion devices, many of which are no longer in use. The majority of these devices are still in good working condition when consumers upgrade. Unfortunately, few practical options exist for consumers to responsibly resell or recycle these devices so the vast majority of them still enter our landfills as toxic eWaste, the fastest growing segment of our national waste stream. To solve this technology problem, ecoATM turned to technology itself and developed the ultimate solution to this vexing problem by providing convenience, immediate financial incentive, and personal data removal for consumers. ecoATM trial locations have already collected tens of thousands of devices over the past year and paid out hundreds of thousands of dollars in return for recycling.
“ecoATM provides tons of value to the consumer by giving them cash for their digital clunkers and simultaneously managing the recycling in a very earth-friendly way,” said Randy Hawks, Managing Director of Claremont Creek Ventures. “They also have a smart business model. That’s why we invested.”
“ecoATM is an innovative automated retail concept that we believe will resonate with today’s environmentally minded consumers,” said Gregg Kaplan, President and Chief Operating Officer of Coinstar, Inc. “We invested in ecoATM because we believe they have a viable and promising business and we are committed to fostering innovation in automated retail.”
“Coinstar is a leading provider in automated retail solutions, and Claremont is a leader in clean-tech venture investing,” said Tom Tullie, Chairman and CEO, ecoATM. “It’s a perfect combination to have these two investors lead our Series A as we ramp into broader commercialization.”
There was a lot of interest in this story. See some of the press coverage below:
ecoATMs Gobble Up Your Gadgets
ecoATM Raises $14.4M for eCycling Kiosks
Your Old Device Is Worth Cash (CSTR, SIVB)
EcoATM Lands $14M in Funding for E-Waste Kiosks
Dump Out Your Junk Drawer: EcoATM to Expand Electronics Recycling Kiosks
The Active Network Files for IPO, EcoATM Banks $14M, Qualcomm Issues Augmented…
An ATM to buy your old iPhone
MIxed Greens: VCs invest in Recycling; Areva Gets CEO; Cheap Microbes for …
Funding roundup – week ending 02/18/11