Hauler Hero collects $16M for its AI waste management software

Hauler Hero has secured new funding as interest in its AI-driven waste management software continues to grow.

The New York-based company closed a $16 million Series A round led by Frontier Growth, with participation from K5 Global and Somersault Ventures, among others. With this latest round, Hauler Hero has raised more than $27 million in total venture funding to date.

Hauler Hero has built an integrated software platform tailored for waste management operators. The system covers a broad range of operational needs, including customer relationship management, billing, and route planning. In line with broader industry trends, the company is preparing to introduce AI agents to enhance its platform’s capabilities further.

Founded in 2020 by CEO Mark Hoadley and his brother-in-law, Ben Sikma, Hauler Hero was born of firsthand frustration with outdated tools in the waste management sector. The pair encountered legacy systems while working on mergers and acquisitions in the industry and set out to momodernizehe space.

“All of the existing software in the space was clunky, old,” Hoadley said 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.”

Since launching in 2020, Hauler Hero says it has facilitated 35 million trash pickups. According to Hoadley, the company has doubled its headcount, revenue, and customer base since announcing its seed funding round in late 2024.

The platform has continued to evolve. Among its most notable additions is a feature that captures images from third-party cameras mounted on garbage trucks and feeds them directly into a centralised software dashboard. The system enables waste management companies to confirm completed pickups, validate billing, and gain better visibility into fleet operations.

Hoadley acknowledged that some sanitation workers and labour unions have expressed concerns about the new technology. However, he noted that most union agreements prohibit using the footage for disciplinary purposes. In some cases, the images can protect drivers by reducing liability in accidents or disputes over missed pickups.

“Think of it as like running a factory with no roof and no visibility into what’s happening in that factory,” Hoadley said. “If you don’t have visibility into what’s happening out there, it’s very hard to have quality control. And the quality control in this case is what was out there; was it picked up?”

A Trio of AI Agents

Hauler Hero is now developing a suite of three AI-powered agents. The first, called Hero Vision, is designed to detect service issues and identify potential revenue opportunities automatically. Hero Chat will function as a customer service chatbot, handling inquiries and support requests. The third tool, Hero Route, will analyse data and automatically optimise routes to improve efficiency.

“There’s an enormous amount of data in our system about pickups, work orders, billing information, and if you give these agents an understanding of your data model, you can just go tell them, hey, go build me a chart,” Hoadley said.

The company intends to use part of its newly raised capital to co-commercialise these AI agents and further expand its offerings for municipal customers, which represent a growing segment of its client base.

“It wasn’t something that I necessarily thought was going to be part of this journey,” Hoadley said about serving public entities. “It came organically, as many things do. We had inbound from some municipalities, and eventually we sold one of them, and then we sold another.”

He suggested that some of this demand may stem from market consolidation. Two major competitors, Routeware and Wastech, merged in 2024, potentially limiting options for government clients seeking technology partners.

Looking ahead, Hoadley said the company remains focused on refining and scaling its platform while exploring additional product enhancements.

“We’re going to continue to chart the course for the next decade of being at the cutting edge of delivering value for customers, leveraging all the latest tools,” Hoadley said. “There are a lot more fun and valuable things that we can do for our customers, and we’re really excited about it.”