Möbius Industries ♻️

Recovers valuable metals from waste using AI and robotics

November 12, 2025

Spotlight

What if recycling facilities could extract materials with the precision of mining but from urban waste?

Quick Pitch: Möbius Industries builds robotics recycling facilities that recover metals and other high-value materials from urban waste with atomic-level precision. Their AI-powered hardware and software achieve over 95% purity at a fraction of the cost and energy of mining.

The Problem

  • Import Dependence: The U.S. relies on imports for over 50% of 43 out of 50 critical minerals.

  • Slow Supply: New mines take an average of 16 years and cost more than $1B to build.

  • Wasted Resources: Less than 20% of global e-waste is recycled, leaving trillions in recoverable materials locked in discarded products.

  • Inefficient Recycling: Manual disassembly and exports are slow, costly, and low yield.

Snapshot

  • Industry: Robotics Recycling & Circular Materials

  • Headquarters: Cambridge, Massachusetts

  • Year Founded: 2024

  • Traction: Three prototypes achieving 95%+ purity, 250K proprietary scrap images, and an LOI with a major U.S. e-waste recycler for large-scale annual volumes.

Founding Team

  • Matthew Pierre-Louis, Founder, CEO: MIT graduate and former Tesla mechanical engineer with deep-tech hardware and de-manufacturing experience.

  • Connor Muilenburg, Head of Engineering Ops: Former Insulet manufacturing engineer specializing in large-scale equipment design.

  • Karl Velazquez, Software Engineer: MIT graduate, AI and robotics researcher, and former Apple intern.

  • Vikram Pandian, Electrical Engineer: Former Capital One product manager focused on LIBS sensing and automation systems.

Funding

Revenue Engine

  • Sorting as a Service: Per-pound fees from e-waste and scrap streams.

  • Subscriptions: Möbius Inspector analytics platform for automated scrap valuation.

  • Leasing Model: Access to advanced automation without upfront capital.

  • Long-Term Economics: Fully automated de-manufacturing hubs projected to generate about $25M in annual revenue each.

What Users Love

  • Immediate ROI through higher scrap value

  • 95% purity without labor intervention

  • Deployable into existing facilities

  • Reduces operating costs and environmental impact

Playing Field

  • AMP Robotics: High-profile competitor using robotic arms with lower throughput.

  • Tomra & Steinert: Strong in sorting but limited in automation and precision.

  • Manual Recyclers: Labor-intensive, low yields, poor scalability

Möbius Edge: Advanced lasers, AI vision, and air-based sorting for precise and fast material recovery.

Why It Matters

The U.S. faces a $4T materials supply challenge. With mining constrained by time, cost, and geopolitics, domestic recycling infrastructure must scale to meet demand from electrification, defense, and infrastructure.

What Sets Them Apart

  • Precision: Atomic-level LIBS sensing and AI classification

  • Throughput: Pneumatic sortation processing thousands of particles per minute

  • Integration: Full-stack hardware, software, and service model

  • Scalability: Modular architecture for facility-wide automation

  • Defensibility: Two provisional patents; proprietary dataset of 250K+ images

Analysis

Bulls Case 📈 

  • Proven tech with 95%+ purity across three prototypes

  • Clear path from service fees to full-scale facilities

  • Team with Tesla, MIT, and manufacturing experience

  • Strong tailwinds from producer responsibility laws and supply chain reshoring

Bears Case 📉 

  • Scaling from prototypes to industrial facilities carries execution risk

  • Competing against well-funded incumbents

  • Complex, fragmented industry demands heavy business development

  • High capital requirements for full-scale de-manufacturing hubs

Verdict

Möbius Industries is addressing a critical infrastructure challenge with a deep-tech solution that has demonstrated technical feasibility. Its combination of economic potential, early traction, and a strong team positions it to transform recycling and raw materials recovery. The main risk is operational execution as it scales. For investors, the opportunity is clear: domestic material sovereignty is moving from policy goal to funded priority. Möbius is poised to capture that shift if it executes.

The Startup Pulse

Another happening week in startup funding. Strong momentum across AI, fintech, deeptech, and payments.

  • Snapmint — Raised $125M to expand EMI-on-UPI lending in India and strengthen underwriting. Investors include General Atlantic, Insight Partners, and Accel.

  • EnduroSat — Raised $104M to scale production of software-defined satellites. Led by GV (Google Ventures) and the European Innovation Council Fund.

  • Lettuce Financial — Raised $28M to expand its financial OS for solo workers and integrate Besolo. Led by Zeev Ventures with top fintech operator participation.

  • Hippocratic AI — Raised $126M Series C at a $3.5B valuation. Co-founded by Munjal Shah, partnering with 50+ healthcare organizations to bring AI into clinical workflows.

Written by Ashher

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