The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said this week that it's giving $3 million to American small businesses that are addressing environmental and public health problems, and a Chicago startup is among the recipients.
Rheaply, a Chicago startup that specializes in recycling and sourcing unused items, was part of 30 companies receiving up to $100,000 in Phase I funding from the EPA, with the opportunity for another $400,000 in Phase II. The grants are in the form of Small Business Innovation Research funding.
“As emerging technologies continue to rapidly change the world, our nation’s small businesses are at the forefront of harnessing these technologies to address today’s environmental challenges,” Wayne Cascio, acting principal deputy assistant administrator in EPA’s Office of Research and Development, said in a statement. “We are excited to watch these small companies bring innovative ideas to the marketplace and help revolutionize improving our environment, public health and the economy.”
It's the latest funding source for Rheaply, a startup founded in 2015 that operates in the "circular economy," a term used to describe an economic system that maximizes the use of resources and eliminates waste. The startup's resource-sharing network helps organizations recycle and source items in a number of industries, including higher education, health care, technology, government and retail.
Rheaply has raised more than $12 million to date. Earlier this year, the startup raised an $8 million Series A round, led by High Alpha, an Indianapolis-based venture capital fund. And in June it raised an additional $2.2 million from Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund and MIT.
Rheaply is led by CEO Garry Cooper, who started the foundation for Rheaply while completing a PhD in neuroscience at Northwestern University by developing a system for university labs to swap and sell unused lab equipment to each other.
