Nearly 80% of the waste haulers using TrashLab’s software now rely on its AI agent, Haul-E, to answer inbound calls and capture after-hours orders. On Thursday, TrashLab said it raised $12 million to build more agents like it.
The money funds agents for dispatch, billing, and collections that would move more of a hauler’s office work onto software.
“Since going live TrashLab has allowed us to grow our fleet 3x all while keeping the same lean backoffice team,” said Mike Smith, president of First State Waste, which runs roll-off, front-load, and portable toilet service.
What the platform replaces
TrashLab says its platform replaces the spreadsheets, paper routes, and older software haulers have long run on. It puts the call center and customer records, dispatch and routing, an in-cab driver app and truck cameras, billing and payments, and reporting in one system.
“Haulers have been forced to choose between antiquated tools and platforms that can’t handle more than one line of business,” said Neil Chaudhary, TrashLab’s co-founder and CEO.
At Uribe Refuse, truck cameras now feed billing.
“When the camera flags a can not out, a blocked dumpster, or an overflowed container, it moves from the field to a customer text to the invoice automatically,” said Brad Uribe, the company’s owner. He said his company is now “catching, billing, and resolving issues that used to fall through the cracks.”
Funding and growth
Ventana, an early-growth equity firm, led the Series A round. Existing investors Bienville Capital, Harlem Capital, and CreativeCo also participated.
Vinay Kumar, Ventana’s co-founder and partner, joins TrashLab’s board. Ershad Jamil, a former chief growth officer at ServiceTitan and BuildOps, joins as an independent director.
TrashLab said annual contract value has grown more than sevenfold since 2024 as customers add modules. It did not disclose revenue or the 2024 starting figure. The company said it serves hundreds of haulers across more than 40 states in the U.S. and Canada, and that haulers have managed more than 5 million tons of material on the platform since launch.
Waste hauling is a large and lucrative market. Waste Business Journal estimates U.S. waste and recycling revenue reached $104.63 billion in 2024, the first year it topped $100 billion.
Kumar called TrashLab “the fastest-growing platform we’ve seen in an industry that has been underserved by software for decades.”
Rollout timeline
TrashLab’s dispatch, billing, and collections agents are still being built, with rollout planned through 2027.
TrashLab was founded in 2022 by Chaudhary, a former BCG and EY-Parthenon consultant, and John Tan, its chief technology officer and a former senior engineer at Stripe and Google. The company plans to expand its engineering and customer success teams in the coming months.
“Our customers see a return from fuel savings, leaner back offices, and faster collections within weeks of going live,” Chaudhary said. “Haul-E, our AI agent, is already answering calls and taking orders for most of them — and it’s the first of many agents we’re building into the platform.”
Why it matters: TrashLab is selling haulers on adding trucks without adding office staff, as First State Waste says it did. What could slow it: its dispatch, billing, and collections agents roll out through 2027.
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