Hauler Herohas picked up fresh funds as demand for its AI-powered waste management software continues to pile up.
The New York-based startup raised $16 million in a Series A round led by Frontier Growth with participation from K5 Global and Somersault Ventures, among others, TechCrunch has learned. Hauler Hero has raised more than $27 million in venture capital, to date.
Hauler Hero has developed an all-in-one software platform for waste management companies that covers a variety of functions, including customer relationship management, billing, and routing. And now, like so many other software companies, Hauler Hero plans to offer AI agents to its customers as well.
Hauler Hero was co-founded in 2020 by CEO Mark Hoadley and brother-in-law Ben Sikma, who encountered outdated software while working on mergers and acquisitions in the sector. Their aim was to bring waste management into the modern era.
“All of the existing software in the space, they were clunky, old,” Hoadley told TechCrunch in 2024. “Sometimes we’d talk about how this one reminds us of the Oregon Trail, this reminds us of the cell phone Michael Douglas used in ‘Wall Street.’ They’re very clunky and antiquated.”
The numbers suggest the company has had some success; Hauler Hero said it has helped facilitate 35 million trash pickups since inception in 2020. And it continues to grow, according to Hoadley, who told TechCrunch the company has doubled its head count, revenue and customer base since announcing its seed round in late 2024.
Hauler Hero has added new features to its platform since its seed round, Hoadley said. The most notable is a product that captures images from third-party cameras on garbage trucks and send them directly to a software command center. This information helps waste management companies confirm pickups, verify billing, and keep a better eye on their distributed fleet, according to the company.
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