Circular Economy Startups

Unbuilt is an online marketplace for buying and selling premium excess, overstock, discontinued, and pre-owned building materials — including tile, stone, lighting, fixtures, doors, appliances, and architectural salvage. It serves builders, designers, architects, showrooms, dealers, and homeowners across the United States, with a focus on making construction more sustainable and affordable through material reuse.

1 investor

Unearth is a Malaysia-based service that collects unused furniture and home items from people's homes and resells them on marketplaces like Carousell, Shopee, Mudah, and Facebook Marketplace on their behalf. It handles inspection, pricing, photography, listing, packing, shipping, and customer service, splitting sale profits with the owner, and donates or disposes of unsellable items.

1 investor

UNICEL Greens recovers precious materials from spent lithium-ion batteries through hydrometallurgical and mechanical recycling processes, serving individuals, businesses, and municipalities. The company focuses on building a circular supply chain for battery materials while reducing dependence on traditional mining and supporting electric transportation adoption.

1 investor

Unisync Corp is a publicly traded uniform services company that provides managed service uniform programs and protective clothing through its subsidiaries Unisync Group Limited and Peerless Garments, serving corporate, public sector, and first responder clients in North America. The company operates an electronic storefront with employee allotment management and body sizing technology, while also manufacturing high-performance outerwear and protective gear using advanced materials.

1 investor

United Standard recycles discarded wind turbine blades, converting the fiberglass-reinforced composite waste into advanced materials for infrastructure and industrial applications. It targets the disposal problem of end-of-life turbine blades that otherwise end up in landfills.

1 investor

United Wardrobe presents an online marketplace for buying and selling clothing, offering categories such as women's and men's apparel, footwear, and accessories across a range of fashion brands.

1 investor

Universal Matter develops graphene-based material additives and dispersions for use in epoxy resins, polyester resins, concrete, and rubber compounds to enhance performance properties. The company serves manufacturers across construction, composites, and tire industries.

1 investor

UNLIMEAT manufactures plant-based meat products made from upcycled plant proteins, with a focus on Asian cuisines including Korean BBQ, dumplings, and other international flavors. The company targets consumers transitioning to plant-based eating by offering diverse, cuisine-specific meat alternatives designed to be convenient and delicious.

1 investor

UP Catalyst captures CO₂ from flue gases and converts it into carbon nanotubes and battery-grade graphite using its proprietary Molten Salt Carbon Capture and Electrochemical Transformation (MSCC-ET) technology. The company offers a local alternative to imported critical raw materials for battery and carbon-material supply chains.

1 investor

Up To Good produces a sparkling beverage made from coffee fruit, a byproduct of coffee production, positioning it as a natural energy source with clean ingredients. The company targets consumers seeking functional beverages without artificial additives.

1 investor

Upcycled Food is an educational and advocacy organization that promotes and defines upcycled food — products made from surplus ingredients that would otherwise enter waste streams, serving consumers and food producers. The organization advances the upcycled food movement through policy definitions, research collaboration, and consumer education to reduce food waste and environmental impact.

1 investor

Upcyclers runs online upcycling competitions, such as the World's Top Upcycler Global Upcycling Challenge, where participants submit entries that are judged and voted on by a community for prizes.

1 investor

UpGrain upcycles brewery by-products, starting with spent barley grain, into food ingredients to reduce food waste and support a sustainable food system. It develops meat and meat-alternative products and food applications in collaboration with food industry partners.

1 investor

UPPACT recycles non-recyclable plastic and textile waste using its UnWastor technology, which melts unsorted, unwashed waste under pressure and friction into high-quality rPT materials and products such as posts and planks. It targets companies with circular goals and large plastic or textile waste streams, positioning itself in the circular economy and recycling sector in the Netherlands.

1 investor

Upteam operates a global pre-owned luxury resale platform that supplies retailers, distributors, e-commerce platforms and brands with authenticated inventory, distribution services, and white-label resale-as-a-service solutions. The company serves the luxury fashion resale market across Europe, North America and Asia.

1 investor

A Japanese company focused on visualizing the value of personal assets to help individuals optimize what they own. It targets the resale/recycling market enabled by e-commerce, aiming to provide objective value information for consumer-to-business transactions.

1 investor

U.S. Minerals manufactures coal slag roofing granules for the roofing industry, offering multiple granule types and sizes with consistent quality and logistics support.

1 investor

USA DeBusk provides cradle-to-grave hazardous and non-hazardous waste management, including waste characterization, onsite handling, DOT-compliant transportation, TSDF disposal coordination, and regulatory compliance reporting. It also performs industrial field services such as tank and vessel cleaning, sludge vacuuming, and equipment decontamination for facility operators.

1 investor

Uzaje operated industrial washing sites for reusable containers and packaging, serving the food service and agri-food industries in France to support the shift toward packaging reuse. The company, founded in 2019, ceased operations in May 2026 after failing to reach a sustainable business model.

1 investor

Van de Velde Packaging designs and produces custom cardboard packaging for food, non-food, and premium product markets, handling the full process from design to printing and finishing and supplying packaging-line automation machines. It operates a network of production facilities across Europe.

1 investor

BOXX Modular (formerly MPA Systems and Vanguard Modular Building Systems) manufactures and leases prefabricated modular buildings for offices, classrooms, banks, and other institutional uses across the United States. The company offers both temporary and permanent modular solutions designed for fast deployment and cost efficiency compared to traditional construction.

1 investor

Varden develops paper-based packaging coatings that convert paper stock into recyclable, compostable flow wrap and lidding using proprietary bio-polymers. Its products provide moisture-barrier, printable, and peelable packaging as sustainable alternatives to plastic for consumer goods.

1 investor

Vectair Systems is a UK-based company that designs and manufactures hygiene and washroom products with a focus on sustainability, including refill systems and screening solutions that reduce plastic packaging waste. The company has achieved EcoVadis Silver Rating certification for integrating sustainability principles into its business operations and product lifecycle.

1 investor

Vela makes paper-based, fully recyclable packaging designed as an alternative to single-use plastic polybags for consumer brands. It offers customizable formats, printing, and materials, with global production and distribution.

1 investor