Atlanta-based Rubicon Global, a software platform and service provider designed to connect trash haulers with companies and governments, has landed another big infusion of foreign cash.
New Zealand’s sovereign wealth fund, the NZ Super Fund, has invested $65 million in a company that has an eye on disrupting what it calls the waste industry “oligopoly” while making a dent in the world’s growing trash heap.
Announced last week, the investment comes a little more than a year after Rubicon landed a $50 million investment and strategic partnership with SUEZ, the France-based water giant that posted €15.1 billion (nearly $17.9 billion) in revenue in 2017.
The New Zealand investment is part of a $140 million funding round that includes a $50 million investment last September from Mexican private-equity firm Promecap, according to tech publication ReCode. Promecap is run by the Chico family, which has financial ties with Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim.
Founded in Kentucky in 2008 and later moved to Atlanta, Rubicon is said to have hit a more than $1 billion valuation last year with the Promecap investment. The company hit more than $300 million in revenue last year, with plans to surpass that again in 2018, according to Forbes.
Atlanta was the first city to equip drivers with Rubicon’s app. Columbus, Ga., is now using the technology, which allows cities to track and better maintain their fleets, in turn feeding data back into their city’s IT systems. Rubicon says it also counts 5,000 businesses as customers.