Press release
Ficha closes its first fundraising at €840,000 to accelerate sorting and recycling in France
Ficha, a start-up specializing in the design of waste characterization solutions based on artificial intelligence, raises €840,000 in March 2023. This first crowdfunding round, conducted with Sowefund, marks a new turning point for the start-up. The time has come to industrialize its products and accelerate their marketing.
A solution based on Artificial Intelligence for waste sorting
Founded in February 2020 by Vincent Hipault, Rituraj Shrivastwa and Hubert Ménard, Ficha specializes in the design of optical solutions incorporating image processing models. Its goal: to characterize waste in sorting bins and collection trucks. Theartificial intelligence, the start-up's core business, operates in two key stages of the waste management process. These are collection and pre-collection, to ensure that treatment and recycling are optimal.
First, Ficha tackles the problem of detection And localization of sorting errors, thanks to a sensor placed within the garbage trucks themselves. By addressing communities and waste operators directly, Ficha provides visibility and precise data on sorting errors.
In a second phase, Ficha intervenes in collective housing, where sorting errors are the most problematic. The start-up has developed the Cocoon, a sensor placed directly on the sorting bins which analyses the quality of sorting of each deposit. It helps inform tenants about their mistakes and makes the experience more fun and motivating, by rewarding good behavior via the application. Ficha helps landlords improve the cleanliness of their housing stock and communities optimize the quality and quantity of sorting.
€840,000 to develop the start-up’s growth and market
Since the first installations in February 2021, nearly 10 tonnes of CO2 equivalent saved and 135,000 pieces of waste deposited. This only concerns 22 residences between Paris, Lyon, Bourg-en-Bresse and Grenoble. The year 2022 validates the value of the solutions, the acquisition of first customers and the integration of the Citeo Circular Challenge accelerator. The start-up has a growing reputation on the waste market. The year 2023 establishes the era of industrialization and of acceleration of marketing, with three main objectives:
- Develop the level of active AI technology in Ficha products, by investing in research and development;
- Industrialize solutions by using subcontractors to speed up production;
- Develop the French market by increasing the number of cocoon and truck sensor installations. The 2023 target is set at 100 Cocoons and 30 equipped trucks.
“This fundraising confirms Ficha's potential and will allow us to expand the team. Our goal is to meet the expectations of our partners to help them with one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century: waste. It's an exciting challenge with a highly motivated team and a disruptive technology that will revolutionize the market!”, rejoices Vincent Hipault, President of Ficha.
For Rituraj Shrivastwa, Technical Director at Ficha, “These funds will be used to accelerate the company's growth and expand its reach in the waste management sector. This fundraising marks an exciting new chapter. It highlights the growing demand for innovative recycling solutions”.
A booming market, promising for 2023
The waste characterization market is very promising, in France as in Europe. According to the World Bank, the waste production in the world should increase by 70% between 2016 and 2050.
In France, those responsible for recycling waste are faced with a repressive change in taxation. This is forcing them to review their methods. The need for visibility on the materials collected and raising awareness among users about good sorting practices are priorities for local authorities, waste operators and lessors.
The pre-collection segment is estimated at more than €325 million in annual revenue in France. The collection segment at around €124 million.
The year 2023 looks very promising and rich in developments for the Grenoble start-up. It is a question of preparing the ground for the continuation of its expansion. Indeed, Ficha's ambition is to deploy its sensors on the European market from 2024.
A start-up to follow closely and which shows on a daily basis that with Ficha it's not over!
