Sachin Tendulkar Joins Recykal as Strategic Investor

His investment extends the company’s USD 23 million bridge round, which closed in June 2026. The amount invested was not disclosed.

The June round combined primary and secondary capital from existing investors and select new family offices. Recykal is using the funds to strengthen its technology platform and Open Marketplace, expand its Deposit Return System (DRS) and support international expansion. DRS works by returning a deposit when people hand back packaging, which encourages them to recycle.

As an investor, Tendulkar will help promote a campaign to make responsible waste behaviour an everyday habit, building on Swachh Bharat, the government’s national cleanliness mission.

Founded in 2015, Recykal digitises waste management through its platforms, Deposit Return Systems, and trading of recyclable materials. It also develops AI-enabled hardware, including reverse vending machines designed and manufactured in India. The company says it has channelled over 30 lakh tonnes of waste, working with 650 brands, including Hindustan Unilever, Samsung and BMW and more than 5,000 aggregators and recyclers.

“What drew me to Recykal was seeing how technology was being used to solve an everyday problem,” said Sachin Tendulkar, strategic investor, Recykal.

“Recykal was built on a simple conviction that the circular economy is fundamentally a technology problem,” said Abhay Deshpande, CEO and Co-founder, Recykal. “Deposit Return Systems are perhaps the clearest expression of this thesis, bringing together technology, logistics and behavioural change to transform how packaging waste is recovered.”