Circular, a Y Combinator-backed Singaporean subscription service focused on high end consumer electronics, has closed its seed funding round of $7.6 million.
Led by AirTree Ventures, the funding round also saw participation from investors at YC Continuity Fund, Global Founders Capital, Partech Ventures and January Capital, Circular said in a statement on Monday.
According to the statement, the funding round was also backed by notable angel investors, including the founders of PropertyGuru, Funding Societies, Stashaway, Carousell and Nutmeg.
This brings the total valuation of Circular to $30 million.
With these funds, Circular is expanding its unique offerings in Singapore further drilling into product market fit; doubling down on its expansion in Australia as well as aggressively expanding its business to business (B2B) offering, Circular for Business, to address the underserved startup and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) segments in both markets.
It is noted that Circular has grown three times in the last 12 months, and plans to grow 3 times more across Singapore and Australia in the coming year.
“The problem of tech device under utilization is huge, and Circular aims to help curtail it with our subscription model,” said Nick Ramsay, the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Circular.
“By keeping products in use for longer – and keeping precious materials out of landfills – we hope to gradually shift patterns of consumption and reduce our collective burden on the environment,
“What’s most exciting for us is that we see many of our customers quickly come back for second and even third devices – indicating they’ve moved their device needs entirely to subscriptions and that they’re fully embracing the Circular Economy,” he said.
Founded in Singapore in 2021 by Nick Ramsay, George Oliver, Pantha Roy and Yaniv Bernstein, Circular offers customers subscriptions on a wide range of premium tech devices with free damage protection that covers up to 90 percent of the cost of repair.
Through a flexible and affordable monthly subscription, Circular customers access the latest tech gadgets at a fraction of the cost in a sustainable way.
Adding to its core categories of phones, tablets and laptops, Circular has recently begun offering popular gaming products as part of its Singapore catalogue.
According to Circular, the consumer electronics industry is large and varied, with approximately 50 million premium tech devices sold across Asia Pacific (APAC) in 2022.
These products are increasingly expensive, they are chronically under utilized and are often left to gather dust in drawers and closets.
Thus, this represents a huge addressable market for Circular and a big opportunity for disruption as the first-mover tech subscription startup in the region.
It is noted that Circular’s business model maximizes value while minimizing waste by ensuring each device is utilized until the end of its usable life.
By offering refurbished devices, in addition to brand-new options, and partnering with industry-leading specialists in refurbishment, Circular helps ensure that the precious resources used in the production of consumer electronics are put to good use by being brought back into market circulation until the end of its product life cycle.
Moreover, cost-savings are passed on to the consumer allowing Circular to package unique and attractive subscription offerings.
“Circular is at the heart of perennial and emerging consumer trends, such as the shift towards sustainability, changing ownership preferences and the desire to have the latest tech,
“On top of that, Circular’s founding team has an incredibly strong and complementary skill set across company building, product, engineering, marketing and logistics that makes us excited to lead their Seed round and see where they take the future of the circular economy,” said Craig Blair, Founder and Partner at AirTree.
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