Queen of Raw: using blockchain and machine learning to prevent waste and boost the bottom line
“Our core technology was developed with the help of data scientists at MIT Solve and Oxford. Now, Future Planet Capital’s investment is giving us the resources to build on the success we’ve had so far and push forward with even quicker growth. That combination of our software platform, university research, and private capital is powerful – it can make a real impact on the world. Together we excel in the global economy while helping industries realize profitability and positive environmental impact.”
Founded by Stephanie Benedetto and Phil Derasmo, Queen of Raw has created a software solution to tackle wasted excess inventory so businesses can be more efficient with their supply chains. That efficiency not only improves a business's profitability but inherently promotes a more environmentally sustainable supply chain. Its Materia MX software enables the reuse, resale and recycling of excess inventory. Using blockchain and machine learning, the platform seeks to tackle the $288 billion of unwanted inventory that ends up each year either in landfills, being burned, or simply left in storage.
This challenge was all too familiar to Stephanie Benedetto, whose family had been in the textile industry for over 100 years. The opportunity was also recognised by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who selected Queen of Raw to participate in the MIT Solve initiative, its marketplace for social impact and entrepreneurship.
MIT Solve brings tech entrepreneurs into the university’s innovation ecosystem, providing them with networks and raising their profile. It was through Future Planet Capital’s alliance with MIT Solve that we became one of the first firms to make a significant investment into Queen of Raw.
The company is making its mark commercially. Its excess inventory software business has grown 650% in 2022, bringing on board some of the world’s biggest companies including Amazon, Microsoft, Stripe and UPS, and creating revenue opportunities that save customers millions in wasted inventory and holding costs. It is making a significant positive impact on the environment too – helping to save over 1 billion gallons of water to date, enough clean water to meet the drinking needs of over 1.4 million people for 3 years
This work matters. According to the UN, the textile industry is the second biggest source of water pollution globally, with textile production including cotton farming using 93 billion cubic metres of water annually, contributing to water stress in many parts of the world.
Using the investment from its most recent funding round, Queen of Raw is putting itself on a path to profitability. It has signed software deals with three of the world’s five largest apparel and footwear companies, and is expanding its operations in North America, Europe and Asia.