Atlanta-based Rubicon Global Inc. on-demand garbage hauling service has raised a $50 million round led by Nima Capital, which also invested in Palantir. Goldman Sachs, Wellington Management Company and a group of private investors including Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio, Henry Kravis, co-founder of KKR; and Paul Tudor Jones II, founder of Tudor Investment Corporation also participated in the round.
Dubbed the “Uber for trash” by the likes of Fortune and Wired, Rubicon is a cloud-based service that manages a network of independent waste haulers. It bids on garbage pick-up contracts from businesses such as 7-Eleven and Wegmans and promises more efficient and environmentally sustainable trash pickup by finding the local independent waste hauler and recycling facility closest to the business’ location.
According to an article in the New York Business Journal, Rubicon’s network of trash haulers serve 60,000 locations. Earlier this summer, the company announced the addition of founding Uber CTO Oscar Salazar to its advisory board and its intent to launch an app for consumer trash pick-up.
The current round of funding brings the total amount raised to $85 million and a valuation of $500 million. As reported by Wired, Rubicon Global closed on a round of $30 million earlier this year, with participation from Salesforce founder Marc Benioff and Outback Steakhouse president and CEO Chris Sullivan.
The 200-person company has plans to apply the latest funding to expand its customer base and bring to market its consumer offering. Led by CEO Nate Morris, who was named to Fortune’s 40 under 40 list in 2014, the company added former LivingSocial CFO John Bax to its C-suite in a similar capacity fueling media speculation of an impending IPO.
Image credit:”Leonardo DiCaprio (Berlin Film Festival 2010) 2 (cropped)” by Siebbi – ipernity.com. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Commons.
_2_(cropped).jpg#/media/File:Leonardo_DiCaprio_(Berlin_Film_Festival_2010)_2_(cropped).jpg){kind=link}