Phantm
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Phantm develops solutions for managing packaging materials and regulatory compliance in the materials industry. The company helps businesses assess packaging data, understand material risks, and identify opportunities to reduce environmental impact as packaging regulations become mandatory.
Also known as Phantm AI
Founders & leadership
Investors · 5
Also in the syndicate · 2
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Phantm is a Melbourne-based climate and packaging technology company that provides brands with a platform to understand and reduce their plastic and packaging footprint. Founded in 2020 by CEO and co-founder Elliot Costello, the company positions itself as an independent pathway for businesses making packaging and product decisions, structured around a methodology it calls A-R-T (Assess, Reduce, Transition), which is intended to help firms cut costs and track progress toward becoming plastic-free.
The platform tracks the plastic a company produces across products and packaging and supports transitions to alternative renewable materials such as seaweed, pulp, fungi and cellulose. As of late 2025, the offering includes Phantm AI, an image-assisted tool that returns insights on packaging materials, formats and weights from a single image, and that converts inputs such as images, PDFs and supplier specifications into a structured, queryable database. Packaging and procurement teams use the resulting dashboard to view their full packaging footprint and identify opportunities in design, cost, waste reduction and regulatory compliance, including obligations arising from Extended Producer Responsibility schemes.
The company frames packaging data collection as a longstanding friction point for brands, which have traditionally depended on supplier responses, and presents its tooling as giving brands direct access to that data.
Founding story
Phantm was founded in 2020 by Elliot Costello, who previously led the non-profit YGAP, which supported early-stage social impact ventures, for ten years before exiting in 2018. Costello has described a link between the humanitarian work of that organisation and environmental issues as motivating the new venture.
Business model
Phantm sells a software platform and associated expertise to consumer-facing brands and businesses that need to assess, reduce and report on packaging and plastic use, including work on developing alternative packaging formats with customers.
Traction
Named customers and partners include MECCA/Mecca, Starbucks Australia, Norwood Industries, Amazon, David Jones, Unilever, Danone, Qantas, Mutti and Thankyou Group. The company was developing a natural coffee cup with Starbucks Australia as of 2023 and staffed a team of 10 in Melbourne as of November 2025.
Latest developments
In November 2025 Phantm announced a partnership with Australian cosmetics retailer Mecca to collect, analyse and report packaging data across Mecca's operations using Phantm's AI-enabled platform and the Phantm AI image-assisted tool, aimed at identifying cost and waste reduction opportunities and reducing compliance risk.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Phantm operates in packaging sustainability and compliance software, an area it says is being driven by the global rollout of Extended Producer Responsibility regulation. Company statements cite that roughly 9% of plastics are recycled globally and that the plastics industry is worth about US$600 billion, with consumption potentially nearly doubling by 2050.
The company describes itself as offering an independent pathway for packaging decisions, combining in-house plastics expertise with a structured A-R-T methodology and AI tooling that gives brands direct access to packaging data rather than relying on supplier-provided information.
Technology
Phantm operates an AI-enabled platform with a reporting dashboard. Phantm AI is an image-assisted tool that produces instant insights into packaging materials, formats and weights from a single image, and converts data sources such as images, PDFs and supplier specifications into a structured, queryable database.
Go-to-market
Direct enterprise partnerships with large brands and retailers, with publicised customer collaborations such as the Mecca packaging data partnership and product development work with Starbucks Australia.
Consumer brands and large businesses with significant packaging footprints, including beauty and retail, food and beverage, and consumer goods companies; buyers within these organisations include sustainability, packaging and procurement teams.
Geography
Headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, with customers in Australia and stated plans, from 2023, to expand into Asia, North America and Europe, targeting regions with high plastic consumption and limited recycling infrastructure.
History
Phantm was founded in 2020 by Elliot Costello. In November 2023 it announced a $2 million seed round and said it was working with MECCA, Starbucks Australia and Norwood Industries while planning expansion into Asia, North America and Europe. By November 2025 the company had a 10-person Melbourne team, had worked with brands including Amazon, David Jones, Unilever, Danone, Qantas, Mutti and Thankyou Group, and announced an expanded AI-based packaging data partnership with Mecca.
Compiled by commissioned research from 3 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 4
launches, deals, and filingsAustralian cosmetics retailer Mecca partnered with Phantm to change how its packaging data is collected, analysed and reported, using Phantm's AI-enabled platform and the Phantm AI image-assisted tool.
Following its seed round, Phantm said it was looking to expand across Asia, North America and Europe, focusing on regions with significant plastic consumption and limited recycling infrastructure.
Phantm announced a $2 million seed round led by Blacknova VC, Salus Ventures and CoVentures, to be used to iterate and scale its plastic reduction platform and support international expansion.
$2M source ↗
Phantm reported it was developing a natural coffee cup in collaboration with Starbucks Australia.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 3
primary sources listed
- Plastics reduction startup Phantm lands $2 million Seed round - Startup Dailystartupdaily.net · web
3 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Phantm do?
- Australian climate tech company whose AI platform helps brands measure, reduce and report on packaging and plastic use.
- Who founded Phantm?
- Phantm was founded by Elliot Costello, Simon Taylor, Sean Bonadeo, Matt Kendall.
- Who are Phantm's investors?
- Phantm's investors include Black Nova VC, Darcy Naunton, Salus Ventures.