Nando, formerly known as Re Learn, a start-up active in the development of artificial intelligence-based waste monitoring solutions, has announced that it has completed a \u20ac3.3 million capital increase. The round was led by Maia Ventures (Praesidium SA), through the Maia I fund, in which EIF participates with the InvestEU Fund programme, and CDP Venture Capital, through the Accelerator Fund and with the participation of the Piemonte Next Fund, established and managed by CDP Venture Capital and subscribed by the regional finance company FinPiemonte to maximise investment in innovation in the region, and investors already present in the company structure, including Club degli Investitori, La4G and EMBA Capital Partners. <\/p>\n\n
The transaction will enable Nando, already used by over 80 companies worldwide, to consolidate its market position in two key areas: optimising urban waste collection and reducing food waste, by extending its artificial intelligence technologies and enhancing data collection and analysis systems throughout the entire waste management chain. <\/p>\n\n
Founded in 2021 by Riccardo Leonardi, Fabrizio Custorella, Giovanni Lucifora, Federico Fedi and Simone Cavariani, Nando develops a platform that uses artificial intelligence, machine learning and computer vision. The company has been accelerated by Zero, a cleantech programme run by CDP Venture Capital’s national network of accelerators, created by Zest and Elis, which has ENI as its main corporate partner and involves other companies in the sector. <\/p>\n\n
Today, Nando processes over 40,000 images of waste from all over the world every day, from Japan to the United States, via the United Arab Emirates, Europe and the United Kingdom, and supports over 80 customers on a daily basis, including large waste producers such as corporate offices and industrial sites, and service providers such as facility management companies and urban waste collection operators, as well as canteens and collective catering services. Nando’s clients include names such as ISS, Narita International Tokyo Airport, Samsic Facility Italia, A2A, IREN, Bywaters lt, Iveco Group, Deloitte, Grosvenor Property UK, Recorra, Capgemini, CBRE and The Howard de Walden Estate. <\/p>\n\n
Thanks to the introduction of highly granular real-time data, these companies overcome the limitations of traditional systems based on manual and discontinuous surveys, digitising, automating and optimising waste management processes, with a tangible reduction in time, costs and environmental impact. Nando’s proprietary platform integrates the monitoring of different types of waste, from food to industrial to urban waste, into a single solution and makes this data easily accessible via a unified dashboard. A specific section of the company is dedicated to food waste in the catering sector, with the aim of measurably reducing food waste, generating concrete benefits in terms of both reduced operating costs and decreased environmental impact for companies that adopt the service. In this area, Nando collaborates with international clients such as Dussmann. <\/p>\n\n
Riccardo Leonardi, CEO and co-founder of Nando (pictured with the team), said in a statement: “In recent years, we have consolidated our position in the waste management landscape, serving around 80 customers in over 17 countries and collaborating with leading companies. With this new round, we want to take advantage of the unique opportunity that the waste market is currently experiencing. In recent years, rising management costs due to increases in labour and raw material costs, combined with staff shortages, have made waste measurement a crucial factor in optimising the operational processes of companies and administrations. This phenomenon has become particularly critical in sectors such as catering, where we have recently launched a solution that is attracting strong interest from the market. The capital raised will allow us to further develop our technology, consolidating NANDO’s position as a single point of access to waste data. <\/p>\n\n
Stefano Molino, head of CDP Venture Capital’s Accelerator Fund, adds: “We are proud to confirm our confidence in Nando’s team, a concrete example of how technological innovation can generate a measurable positive impact on the community, optimising waste management, reducing food waste and actively contributing to the transition towards a more circular and sustainable economy. The team’s ability to digitise traditionally inefficient processes demonstrates the potential of this technology to generate systemic change towards more responsible production and consumption models.” <\/p>\n\n
Andrea Galassi, founding partner of Maia Ventures, states: “We chose to invest in Nando because, thanks to a proprietary computer vision and artificial intelligence platform, it addresses the challenge of measuring and consequently reducing waste production, which is particularly urgent and significant in the agri-food sector, with a scalable technological approach. The team’s ability to transform an operational problem into actionable data represents enormous potential for both economic and environmental impact.” <\/p>\n\n
Mario Alparone, director of Finpiemonte, states: “Supporting companies such as Nando, which are capable of translating advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence into concrete solutions for sustainable waste management and food waste reduction, reinforces the development trajectories that are at the heart of the upcoming regional calls for proposals, dedicated to the application and dissemination of recycling technologies, waste prevention and industrial symbiosis, within the framework of the ERDF 2021-2027 Regional Operational Programme. This is a coherent approach that drives innovation towards applications with a high impact on the territory.” <\/p>\n\n
Looking ahead, Nando intends to consolidate its presence in Europe and the United Kingdom and accelerate its expansion into the United States and Asia. At the same time, the investment round will enable the company to strengthen its team and develop new product lines dedicated to monitoring different types of waste, placing data at the centre of reduction strategies, operational optimisation and decision support throughout the supply chain. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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