Hauler Hero raises $16 million for AI waste management software

New York-based Hauler Hero has raised $16 million in a Series A round—an early-stage venture capital funding round—led by Frontier Growth. The funding round also saw participation from K5 Global and Somersault Ventures. This latest investment brings the startup’s total venture capital raised to date to more than $27 million.

Founded in 2020 by CEO Mark Hoadley and co-founder Ben Sikma, the company has facilitated 35 million trash pickups. Hoadley explained that the startup was launched to modernize operations, noting that “All of the existing software in the space, they were clunky, old,” according to the CEO. To update these systems, Hauler Hero plans to offer AI agents to its customers. The company is currently developing three specific agents:

• Hero Vision: An agent designed to automatically identify service issues and revenue opportunities.
• Hero Chat: A chatbot built to handle customer inquiries.
• Hero Route: An agent that uses route data to automatically adjust routes for efficiency.

Hoadley explained that because the platform contains vast amounts of data regarding pickups, work orders, and billing, giving these agents an understanding of the data model allows users to simply instruct them to generate charts.

The platform’s features include capturing images from truck-mounted cameras to provide visibility into distributed fleets. Hoadley compared operating a fleet without this visibility to running a roofless factory with no insight into internal operations. However, he acknowledged that some sanitation workers and their unions don’t love this tech upgrade. A primary concern is that camera footage could be used against the drivers for disciplinary measures, though Hoadley noted that most unions prevent the footage from being used for such purposes.

Hauler Hero plans to use a portion of the new capital to commercialize these agents and expand its offerings for municipal entities, which represent a growing segment of its customer base. Hoadley noted that working with public entities was not something he initially expected to be part of the company’s journey, but occurred organically through inbound interest. He suggested that municipal demand is partly driven by the 2024 merger of competitors Routeware and Wastech, which left government entities with fewer provider options. Since late 2024, the company has doubled its head count, revenue, and customer base.

Why it matters

Hauler Hero is scaling its AI-powered waste management software platform, including new AI agents, amid growing demand from municipal entities. The expansion highlights how municipal services are increasingly adopting automation to address operational visibility and market consolidation.