While refurbished device marketplaces like Back Market have raised substantial amounts in funding (Back Market reached a $5.7B valuation last year after a D round) and Raylo in the UK provides leases for electronics (it’s raised raised $180.6M from the likes of Octopus Ventures and Channel 4 Ventures), the device leasing services for small businesses and enterprises powered by venture funding is relatively unexplored.
Indeed, the options for companies that want to lease devices tend to be limited to small IT service companies.
This possibly explains why UK-based Ooodles, which services this market, has now raised a $12 million funding round, led by Paris-based asset manager, Smart Lenders Asset Management (SLAM).
Founded in 2021 by Leonardo Poggiali, a veteran of Sony Mobile and Jawbone, Ooodles leases high-end laptops, phones, and other such hardware on a monthly, Pay-As-You-Go subscription model.
That’s useful for the cliamte. The UN estimates that around 50 million tonnes of e-waste is produced each year, but 20% is formally recycled and reused.
