Bennu.ai
Bennu.ai has developed a new way to sort waste automatically.
Entrepreneur profile
Jonathan Feldstein
PhD student
School of Informatics
The idea
Half of what goes into our general waste could be recycled, while 25% of the contents of our recycling bins is contaminated with unrecyclable waste. Bennu.ai has developed Janus, a bin that sorts waste automatically. The user throws waste away and Janus takes care of the rest. It guarantees to save businesses 10% of waste management costs and early projections estimate possible reductions of 40%.
The story behind the idea
I have an engineering background and am currently doing a PhD in AI at the University of Edinburgh. While I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit, I had no intention of starting a business right now. I told myself: I’m not going to start a startup, I’m going to focus on my PhD. But when I was contacted by the managerial school at the University about a startup idea involving intelligent bins, I agreed to consult - and everything grew from there
The future
Soon we will be developing the next iteration of our product, manufacturing a couple of SmartBins and trialling these in working airports in the next year. Once these trials are complete, we will aim for a first round of investment.
Edinburgh Innovations support
Bennu.ai has attended workshops at Edinburgh Innovations, was a runner-up for the Impact Award in Inspire Launch Grow 2021 and a cohort member of Startup Summer Accelerator.
I believe that sustainability should not come at a cost. My vision is to develop the best AI solutions, to increase the recycling rates of companies, while lowering their costs, and leave behind a liveable planet for the coming generations.
Feeling inspired?
Do you have a sustainable idea? Enter our brand new Environmental Enterprise Idea Competition for your chance of winning a share of £500 and the chance to make your idea a reality. Deadline 30 November.