A Baltimore startup hoping to become the “Tinder for materials” has raised $1.78M to build software that matches different plastics companies together to make it easier to buy and sell materials.
Matium CEO Bailey Robin plans to use the capital to hire several more engineers to prepare to launch the software platform to the public in January. The software works by providing a searchable database where customers can find different materials and services like recycling.
A customer first puts out a request on the software specifying how much plastic they need and the timeline of when they need it for a project. The plastics firm can then compare several competing bids that are trying to fulfill the request. Once a company "swipes right" on a contract, Matium handles the shipping of the plastics to the customer.
After the material arrives, staff can use the Matium app to keep track of inventory and sell products. The plastics industry offers a potentially huge market for Matium as the global plastics market was valued at $712 billion in 2023, according to data firm Statista, with recycled plastics at $69.4 billion.
The company has 17 investors, according to a Form D filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Robin did not disclose the names of any investors but said the round included family offices and private equity firms. The company earns revenue primarily through handling the shipping of plastics purchased through the software and subscriptions.
Robin began in the plastics industry as a trader in 2018, negotiating sales of plastics between corporations such as recycling centers and manufacturing operations on a daily basis. He quickly discovered that, despite the millions of dollars being spent on specialized materials, the industry was driven by middlemen that were unnecessary with modern software.
“The plastics world is like the used car market of the 1980s,” Robin said. “In the 1980s, if you needed to buy a red Ferrari with a V6 transmission, you would have to call a guy to call a guy. There’s a bunch of people who make money in the middle and it takes a while to get information.”
Robin hopes that making buying and selling plastic easier can reduce the cost of recycling to create a more sustainable economy with less waste. He also wants to use the massive amount of transaction and sales data on Matium to better understand the plastic market by seeing what regions of the country demand large amounts of the ubiquitous material. The software could eventually incorporate a carbon score to show how much greenhouse gases a transaction may cause, Robin added.
“If plastic was $2 a pound you would not have so much plastic sitting in the ocean right now,” Robin said. “If it was more valuable there would be more intention to go recycle it.”
Matium plans to eventually expand into the metal and fiber industries in 2024 once it has launched its plastics platform.
