In a nutshell
- Greek Apeiron Ventures made their first investment from their new seed investment fund in Circuland, a London-based circular economy startup.
- The amount of the pre-seed round is totaling €750K, with the participation of Astylab Ventures.
Aiming to cut construction waste using Digital Material Passports
Circuland was founded in 2021 by two Greeks, Anastasia Stella and Angelo Mermiklis. The startup aims to help companies reduce carbon emissions and waste from construction by promoting the reuse of materials. The company utilizes circular economy practices through Digital Material Passports, which act as life cycle records for construction materials, enabling reuse and value recovery, turning buildings into material banks.
The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) which entered into force on 18 July 2024, is the cornerstone of the US Commission’s approach to more environmentally sustainable and circular products.
ESPR has introduced a Digital Product Passport (DPP), a digital identity card for products, components, and materials, which will store relevant information to support products’ sustainability, promote their circularity and strengthen legal compliance.
Industrial and electric vehicle batteries will be the initial products to have mandatory DPPs, from 2027. Other product categories, including textiles, are expected to follow by 2030.
Circuland secures €750K pre-seed funding
Today, the London-based startup announced they have closed a €750K pre-seed funding round. The round was led by Apeiron Ventures with participation from Astylab Ventures.
“This funding will allow us to meet the growing demand for our solutions and drive innovation in the circular economy space within the construction industry,” shared Anastasia Stella, CEO and Co-founder of Circuland.
The funds will be used to speed up Circuland’s product development and grow its team, aiming to establish the company as a leader in Digital Material Passports for construction products, buildings, and infrastructure.
Angelo Mermiklis, CTO and Co-founder, added, “Having witnessed the transformative impact of accessible, transparent data in the Financial Sector, we are bringing this much-needed change to the built environment, turning buildings into true Material Banks.”
First investment from the €25M Seed investment fund
Earlier this year, Apeiron Ventures announced the launch of its new seed investment fund with a first close at €25M. The seed-stage investment fund, founded by Dimitris Kalavros-Gousiou and Nikos Antoniou, focuses on innovative startups within Greece, the Greek Diaspora, across Europe, and beyond. The initial investment tickets range from €300K to €1M.
Circuland marks their first investment from the new fund, which targets two main areas, enterprise transformation and the Gen Z Economy.
“The construction sector is responsible for 40% of global carbon emissions and accounts for 62% of all waste generated in the UK. Despite its vast scale, technological innovation has made little impact thus far. Circuland’s vision aligns seamlessly with our mission to support groundbreaking, sustainable technologies. We believe their digital product passports have the potential to become the benchmark for circular economy solutions in construction, while Circuland’s data warehouse will significantly enhance decision-making in both the construction and maintenance of buildings,” shared Apeiron Ventures partners, Dimitris Kalavros Gousiou and Nikos Antoniou.
They revealed that the decision to invest in Circuland was marked by the team’s expertise in the field, more specifically Anastasia’s experience and expertise in DPPs both in UK & Europe. Moreover, both market demand and regulators push these solutions.
“We are gearing up towards two more investments by the beginning of 2025. Interestingly enough, we are getting exposure to plenty of interesting cases outside our core market, Greece, especially on the GenZ Economy side of our pipeline,” Gousiou added.
