Shark Tank Fame ScrapUncle Raises ₹22 Crore Pre-Series A Led by Orios Venture Partners and Acumen to accelerate Circular Economy in India

ScrapUncle, the leading on-demand recycling platform, has raised ₹22 crore (~USD 2.4 million) in a Pre-Series A funding round led by Orios Venture Partners, with Acumen Fund, Inc’. coming in as Co-Lead. The round also saw participation from Upaya Social Ventures, Venture Catalysts, We Founder Circle, Soonicorn Ventures, and prominent angel investor Mr Bharat Jaisinghani.

The fresh capital will be used to deepen ScrapUncle’s presence across the Delhi NCR region, scale operations to achieve ₹100 crore in annual recurring revenue, and lay the foundation for expanding the App to other metro cities. The funding will also support investments in fulfilment infrastructure, technology, and workforce, while laying the groundwork for setting up an in-house e-waste recycling facility as a strategic capability.

Founded by Mukul Chhabra, ScrapUncle is building India’s first one-stop recycling App that enables doorstep collection of all recyclables, from e-waste, paper, metals, cartons, plastics, textiles, to even end-of-life vehicles, with a core focus on household collection, the most complex part of the recycling supply chain. Users can schedule doorstep pickups via the ScrapUncle app or website, receiving transparent pricing, accurate digital weighing, and a consistent service experience. ScrapUncle operates a closed, managed network where all collections are executed exclusively by ScrapUncle-trained collectors, referred to as "Green Superheroes", who work as gig workers for ScrapUncle.

Sukhmani Bedi, Partner at Orios Venture Partners,” ScrapUncle is building critical infrastructure for India’s circular economy by bringing technology, transparency, and efficiency to a sector that has long remained informal and fragmented. Mukul and his team have demonstrated strong execution at scale, along with a deep understanding of both the supply chain and the social impact embedded in this business. We are excited to lead this round and partner with ScrapUncle as they organise the recycling ecosystem and build a pan-India C2B e-commerce platform for waste management”.

ScrapUncle operates on a vertically integrated model that brings end-to-end control across the waste value chain. Collectors and helpers are provided with electric pickup trucks—without the need to own a vehicle—and all material collected from households and enterprises is routed exclusively to ScrapUncle warehouses, which function like e-commerce fulfillment centres. Here, waste is segregated, processed, and sent to authorized recyclers, ensuring responsible recycling and full traceability. By maintaining control over collection infrastructure, ScrapUncle optimizes service quality while delivering stable, predictable earnings for collectors through structured training, safety standards, and dignified working conditions—modernizing a traditionally informal sector.This is supported by proprietary backend software built for waste-commerce, enabling digital tagging, traceability, logistics, and inventory management across first-mile, mid-mile, and last-mile operations.

“Our ambition has always been to build the next e-commerce opportunity, reimagined for E-waste and Recyclables — C2B instead of B2C,” said Mukul Chhabra, Founder of ScrapUncle. “We are proud to be among the very few companies in this space to have reached meaningful scale, and to be backed by reputed consumer-focused VC funds like Orios Venture Partners and impact-focused funds such as Acumen and Upaya Social Ventures. This gives us the right mix of guidance and networks across climate, consumer, social impact, and the circular economy. Our vision is to scale ScrapUncle pan-India and become the first company to truly organise the recycling supply chain at scale.”

India’s recycling ecosystem remains largely unorganised, dominated by informal junk buyers, fragmented supply chains, and limited traceability. ScrapUncle addresses these challenges by collecting directly from households and sending to authorised recyclers through a fully digitised, end-to-end platform that reduces middlemen, improves material quality, and ensures compliance. Since inception, the company has completed over 300,000 pickups, recycled more than 20 million kilograms of waste worth over ₹45 crore, recorded close to 350,000 app downloads, and empowered nearly 200 informal workers. 

Paraag Sabhlok, Head of Investments, Acumen India, "ScrapUncle's platform unlocks impact on three fronts - its on-demand collection platform for scrap collection for customers who struggle to dispose of scrap responsibly; for the collection partners for whom it unlocks consistent income and decent working conditions, and for the recyclers for whom it helps secure quality scrap and electronic waste. For a country that generates ~3.8 MMT of e-waste annually and that is powered by an informal economy that disincentivizes decent working conditions for the hardest part in the value chain, Acumen is excited to back Mukul and the business model that shows high potential for scale and impact for its collection partners. Acumen is looking forward to working with Orios Venture Partners in supporting the company achieve its vision”.

ScrapUncle was featured and funded on Shark Tank India Season 2 and Mukul was recognised in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia List 2025. With this round, ScrapUncle aims to accelerate its transition from a collection App into a fully integrated recycling infrastructure company, setting new benchmarks in transparency, compliance, and efficiency for India’s circular economy.