Oxwasha UK start-up that has spent the past few years applying high-tech processes to reduce environmental costs for dry cleaning and commercial laundry, has used £10 million (~$12 million) in Series A funding to expand its reach across the country.
Currently, its service is available in five UK cities: London, Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol and Manchester but – with new funding – it is aiming for wider coverage in the country and beyond. will be released in the US.
Oxwash has seeded £1.4 million back Year 2020 – and has now raised a total of £15.7m since it was founded in 2017, including from a public equity crowdfunding last year (earning £500,000 from around 320 homes) Crowdcube investment); and through a £2.08 million seed deposit.
Series A led by Untitled VC, with existing backers Biz Stone (Twitter co-founder) also joined, along with Indeed, founder Paul Forster, and Holly and Sam Branson. Other named returning investors include venture arm Reckitt Access VC, Pentland Group, Ascension Ventures, Vala Capital and Truesight Ventures. While new investors in the round include 8 Dimension Ventures, System Capital Management and Khimji Ramdas LLC.
Oxwash’s alternative spin on commercial laundry includes a ‘gentle’ ‘wet wash’ technique to replace dry cleaning involving the use of biodegradable detergents (instead of solvents) harsh”) – and it also reduces water consumption (saving 4L/1kg of washed clothes).
In addition, it uses ozone as a disinfectant, to disinfect and deodorize fabrics at lower temperatures than the traditional commercial laundry process.
To ensure economies of scale, the on-demand laundry startup operates its services in a number of hubs (currently three) – otherwise known as “dressing” service centers. “destroy” – uses a fleet of electric cargo bikes and electric vehicles for pick-up and drop-off to reduce its carbon footprint.
In a major development, it announced that it has achieved B Corporation status – and claims to be the only laundry and wet cleaning company in the world to have achieved this certification for environmental standards, social responsibility and transparency, reinforcing its ecological credentials.
Oxwash customers include both businesses and individuals looking for on-demand laundry service (think private Airbnb services hosted by NHS trusts). On the b2b side, it says customers include hotels, hospitals, universities, hotels and circular fashion boutiques.
In May 2020, Oxwash reported “several hundred” business customers and more than 4,000 individual users. Its press release doesn’t provide updated figures (we asked) but it touts a quadruple in revenue over the past 12 months, as well as saying it has achieved “operating profit” on three bases. your laundry.
The new funding will continue to expand in the UK, with the startup planning to build a massive, centralized laundry facility that it plans to use to serve customers “above and under the country”.
It is also planning to launch in the US (though in May 2020 it talked about European expansion – so perhaps it has reconfigured its international growth plans).
Other funding plans include investing in new methods to further enhance its approach, such as sonic drying – that is, using sound waves instead of heat to dry textiles.
It also refers to the possibility of applying robotics and computer vision to further optimize its processes.
Additionally, over the next 12 months, Oxwash says it has a goal of completely eliminating scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions from its operations.
Commenting in a statement, Chief Executive Officer, Dr Kyle Grant said: “This new funding will be used primarily to develop our technology and invest heavily in full decarbonisation in the future. our exclusive washing process. Up to 30% will be used to expand our software engineering capabilities, 30% to deploy our nationwide processing facility, and the rest to grow and grow the business. “
“Starting a business just before the global pandemic and economic crisis is not an ideal business plan for anyone, and as we all know consumer and business needs have changed dramatically over the past few years. via. For us, this means focusing on building a hassle-free solution for our business customers – the last thing they need to worry about is how clean their laundry will be. any.
“BCorp recognition reinforces our commitment to responsible business and is another assurance to our customers that we are doing business the right way. It is without a doubt the strongest certification available to demonstrate our dedication to sustainability and transparency which Oxwash considers a high growth company.”
Currently, the startup employs more than 80 employees and says it hopes to grow headcount by 50% next year as it ramps up its service expansion across the country – expanding from service facilities available in London, Oxford and Cambridge.
Notably, Oxwash’s delivery people and delivery workers are fully employed (unlike on-demand delivery platforms based on the so-called ‘gig economy’ model) – and it also stipulates that all employees are paid more than the national living wage.
