Arlington, Va.-based The Rounds, a sustainability firm focused on reusable packaging for deliveries, has closed a $24 million Series B round led by Chicago-based Moderne Ventures, with participation from New York’s FJ Labs and existing investors.
Co-founded in 2019 by CEO Alexander Torrey and chief operating officer Byungwoo Ko, the startup has raised $66 million from investors, including Washington, D.C.-based Construct Capital, and West Coast firms First Round Capital and Redpoint Ventures.
Torrey was an Entrepreneur in Residence at Techstars Atlanta in Ponce City Market when he came up with the idea. Byungwoo, who earned an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business, previously worked at Uber.
“Sustainability has been at our core since day one … Waste is just bad design. The Rounds creates a better experience for our members that wastes less than the alternatives,” said Torrey, whose past experience includes a stint as an analyst at the CIA and advertising gian Dentsu. The Rounds, which has operations in Atlanta, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia, has saved over 1 million pounds of packaging waste, he added.
The Rounds, launched initially in Philadelphia as Mlkmn, sources groceries and other products directly from producers, and then delivers them in eco-friendly packaging. It charges members a $10 per month fee to automate delivery in empty containers and reusable material.
The company says it uses AI and machine learning to streamline deliveries, using r prediction algorithms to determine when a member might need home refills, besides sharing personalized product recommendations. Since its Series A in 2022, The Rounds says, its revenue has grown 6X, as it also opened a state-of-the-art facility in Washington, D.C., launched cold chain operations, and expanded its supply chain.
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Along with the Series B, The Rounds added Prof. Gad Allon of the Wharton School of Business to its board.
“The Rounds exemplifies the critical intersection of tech innovation and operations, which is essential for the future of last-mile logistics to be sustainable,” said Allon, who teaches Operations, Information, and Decisions at Wharton. “By leveraging AI to optimize operations and reduce waste, The Rounds is not just scaling up its business but is also setting a new standard for sustainable growth and efficiency in two-way last-mile logistics.”
The Rounds plans to use the latest funding to scale its AI-powered service, strengthen executive leadership, and launch its service in new markets. In an interview with TechCrunch, Torrey declined to name the cities but said New York was not in consideration.
