Today, the fastest growing waste stream on the planet is electronics. 83% ends up as waste, throwing away more than €60 billion annually. In 2022 alone, an estimated 5.3 billion mobile phones were disposed of, and only a small fraction of them found a new home. Selling or buying an older (but perfectly working) device is often not considered worth the effort.
Valyuu creates impact by extending the lifetime of the electronic devices and advocating and implementing the 4Rs: reuse, refurbish, recycle and repair. Unlike existing platforms, the refurbishers, Valyuu explicitly focuses on the first R – reuse. Through a transparent ‘product passport’, with detailed information about the condition of the product, unique photos and access to test reports, consumers know exactly what they are buying. This way, Valyuu ensures the best deal for both the buyer and the seller.
Valyuu has a young, bright and diverse team, founders Ferhat Topuz (CEO) and Arvin Estebadari (COO/CFO) met while working at a large telecom company and both experienced frustrations with the current inefficient system for returning devices. The third founder Jingwei Ren (CXO) wrote his thesis on the end-of-life experience for mobile devices and met the two others while doing research.Â
We worked together on this investment with Slingshot Ventures, Techstars, Golden Egg Check Capital, and several angel investors. The new capital will support the continued development of the Valyuu platform, increase brand awareness in the Benelux, and kick-off international expansion.
Together we are committed to make a circular lifestyle as attractive and accessible as possible for everyone.
Want to find out more about Valyuu —or give your old electronics a happy new owner—visit valyuu.com.
