Recycleye, founded in London in 2019, uses computer vision and robots to identify and pick materials from waste on the conveyor belts of recycling plants. Its QualiBot robot and AI vision systems target aluminium, cartons, plastics, paper and construction waste, and the company says it employs engineers from Cambridge University and Imperial College London.
Recycleye announced in December 2021 that it had won an EIC Accelerator award, a "grant only" award for RESOURCE, recovering target materials from municipal waste with AI. We found no RESOURCE project in CORDIS, the EU's project database. In February 2023 it raised a $17 million Series A led by DCVC. In April 2026 CP Group acquired a majority stake; Companies House records CP Manufacturing (Europe) Limited as the controlling shareholder from 12 May 2026.
Company file
- Legal entity
- Recycleye Ltd, 12221541, London
- Founded
- 23 September 2019
- CEO
- Victor Dewulf
- Products
- QualiBot sorting robot, AI vision systems
- Investors before sale
- DCVC, Promus, Playfair, MMC, Creator Fund, Atypical, Seaya Andromeda
- Owner
- CP Group, via CP Manufacturing (Europe) Ltd
- EIC award
- RESOURCE, October 2021 cut-off, grant only
Where Recycleye Stands Today
CP Group, "a San Diego and London-based designer and manufacturer of advanced material recovery facilities", did not disclose the price. Recycleye had 45 employees at the time of the deal, according to the announcement. Since the sale, Companies House shows new directors from the buyer, a reduction of share premium backed by a solvency statement in June 2026 and a new charge registered in June 2026. Recycleye keeps publishing news under its own name, including a case study on robotic carton sorting for Iren in Parma, Italy.
The Technology: Teaching Robots to Recognise Rubbish
By February 2023 Recycleye's systems were installed "in facilities in England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Australia, the US and France, with multiple robot orders confirmed in Italy and Belgium". Customers named in its news include Bryson Recycling, which bought further robots, Urbaser in Spain and Tetra Pak, which invested in AI carton sorting at two sites. In 2025 it installed an AI optical sorter for construction waste with STADLER in Germany.
"By combining near infrared technology with advanced AI, we can deliver higher quality sorting solutions."
Victor Dewulf, CEO of Recycleye, 2026What the EIC Project Promised, and What the Record Shows
RESOURCE aimed to use AI to recover target materials from mixed municipal waste. Recycleye said the EIC money would "contribute to the further development of our AI-powered waste sorting automation solutions". Without a CORDIS record, there is no public account of the award's size or results; the company's own record shows the technology deployed commercially.
- AI sorting in real plantsDelivered7+ countries.
- Follow-on capitalDelivered$17M Series A.
- GrowthDelivered15 to 43 staff.
- EIC project accountabilityNot shownNo CORDIS record.
What Has Happened Since the Award
The Money
Recycleye's filed accounts show cash of £12.37 million in September 2023 after the Series A, falling to £7.79 million a year later, and accumulated losses rising from £5.2 million to £9.0 million in that year. The company also won £741,000 from Innovate UK in 2022. The value of the EIC award and the price CP Group paid are not public.
What cannot be checked
The size of the EIC award and who paid it, Recycleye's revenue, the number of robots installed and the terms of CP Group's purchase are not public.
Why Europe Should Care
The EIC backed a London company that built AI sorting for European recycling plants. It is now majority-owned by CP Group, a US and UK sorting-plant maker. Much of the customer base named in its news is in Europe.
What the project promised
AI to recover target materials from municipal solid waste.
What the record shows
Robots and AI sorters in plants across Europe, a $17M Series A and a sale to CP Group.
The Verdict
A commercial exit
Recycleye turned its technology into products that recyclers bought, then sold a majority to an industrial buyer. What the EIC award itself paid for is not on the EU's public record.
Recycleye has not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on company statements and UK company filings, linked throughout.
