Rubicon
Rubicon Technologies operates a waste and recycling software and hauler marketplace spanning 13M+ service locations and 100+ cities across the US, Canada, and UK, serving enterprise customers (FedEx, TJX, Chipotle, Best Buy, Gap, 7-Eleven) and municipal clients with routing, compliance, and sustainability products.
- Company typePublic
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersLexington, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Rubicon does
Rubicon Technologies (NYSE: RBT), founded in 2008 and headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky, operates a waste and recycling technology platform that connects enterprise and municipal waste generators with a network of haulers, alongside adjacent compliance, sustainability, and recycling products. The company's core platform, RUBICONConnect, functions as a marketplace and routing layer across 13M+ service locations and 100+ cities in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, with named enterprise customers spanning FedEx, TJX, JLL, Chipotle, Best Buy, Williams Sonoma, Wegmans, Sweetgreen, Gap, 7-Eleven, Cox, Fifth Third, and Americold, and municipal clients including Houston, Kansas City, Washington DC, Baltimore, and Memphis. Additional product lines include RUBICONRegWatch for compliance monitoring, Sustainability Reporting, Mail-Back Recycling, Technical Advisory Services, and Rubicon Now, with embedded route optimization that the company reports delivers material reductions in route distance and fuel consumption.
The company went public via SPAC merger in August 2022 and subsequently executed a multi-phase restructuring: the May 2024 divestiture of its fleet technology business (RubiconSmartCity, Rubicon Pro, Wastech) for $94.2M, which reduced debt by approximately $57M; a December 2024 $20M preferred equity raise led by Rodina Capital; a January 2025 leadership transition to CEO Michael Dulin; and an April 2026 majority acquisition of UK-based water and wastewater technology provider Jacopa, extending the platform into adjacent environmental infrastructure verticals. Revenue is generated through a combination of software subscriptions, marketplace commissions, and ancillary services, with FY2024 revenue reported at $48.7M representing 21% year-over-year growth against a smaller post-divestiture base.
Rubicon firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Rubicon
- Legal name
- Rubicon Global, LLC
- Website
- https://rubicon.com
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Rubicon Technologies operates a waste and recycling software and hauler marketplace spanning 13M+ service locations and 100+ cities across the US, Canada, and UK, serving enterprise customers (FedEx, TJX, Chipotle, Best Buy, Gap, 7-Eleven) and municipal clients with routing, compliance, and sustainability products.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Rubicon industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Waste Management Software
- NAICS
- All Other Waste Management Services (56299), Waste Collection (5621), Business Support Services (5614), All Other Miscellaneous Waste Management Services (562998)
- SIC
- Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Circular Economy & Waste/Materials Reporting (Zero waste, packaging) (EUAHAJAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Universal Waste Management (Batteries, Lamps, Mercury Devices, Aerosols) (BPALAFAJ), Waste Management & Hazardous Waste Compliance (RCRA, Universal Waste, Waste Characterization/Manifests) (EUAHABAC)
Keywords
Where Rubicon is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lexington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Rubicon business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Platform Fees and Marketplace Commission: Rubicon operates as a technology-enabled digital marketplace connecting businesses with independent waste haulers and recycling facilities. Revenue is generated through platform fees charged to businesses for access to the hauler network, routing technology, and management tools.
- Full-Service Waste Management Solutions: Comprehensive waste and recycling services provided directly to enterprise customers with 20+ locations. Services include full-service support, consolidated invoicing, and dedicated account management.
- Technical Advisory Services: Expert consulting services including site audits, material recovery plans, zero waste program design, and circular economy solutions. Partnered with customers to unlock sustainability objectives.
- Dumpster Rental (Rubicon Now): On-demand dumpster rental service for contractors, DIYers, and home remodelers. Self-service e-commerce platform for residential and commercial dumpster needs.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Enterprise Businesses (20+ locations) - Full-service waste management with dedicated account team |
| Subscription | Monthly | Independent/Small Businesses (< 20 locations) - RUBICONConnect self-service platform |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Dumpster Rentals (Rubicon Now) - Per rental transaction |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Rubicon product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Rubicon provides cloud-based waste management, recycling, and smart city technology software that connects businesses, municipalities, contractors, and independent haulers through a digital marketplace spanning 13M+ service locations. Core products include RUBICONConnect (SMB waste management), RUBICONSmartCity (municipal fleet management with route optimization), RUBICONPro (private hauler fleet management), plus sustainability reporting, regulatory compliance (RUBICONRegWatch), Technical Advisory Services for circular economy consulting, and Rubicon Now on-demand dumpster rentals.
Product overview
Rubicon operates as a technology-enabled digital marketplace and software platform connecting businesses, municipalities, and independent haulers with waste and recycling services. The core platform consists of RUBICONConnect (for independent businesses), RUBICONSmartCity (for municipal fleet management), and RUBICONPro (for private waste haulers). These products share a unified data layer managing 13M+ unique service locations and enable real-time route optimization, billing consolidation, and sustainability tracking. Supporting modules include RUBICONRegWatch™ for regulatory compliance, Sustainability Reporting for ESG metrics, Mail-Back Recycling for convenient material recovery, and Technical Advisory Services for circular economy consulting. Rubicon Now provides on-demand dumpster rentals for residential and commercial customers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- RUBICONConnect: Customer-facing platform for waste and recycling management, providing invoice viewing, cost savings exploration, and waste stream visibility across multiple locations.
- RUBICONSmartCity
- RUBICONPro
- RUBICONSelect
- RUBICONRegWatch
- Rubicon Now
Products and services
- RUBICONConnect
Quantifiable outcome
- 21% year-over-year revenue increase in 2024
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Rubicon
Customer profileNamed customers22 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Rubicon technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability1 record
Feature6 records
Rubicon partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- JacopaminorRubicon acquired a majority stake in Jacopa, a water and wastewater treatment business. This represents expansion into adjacent environmental services beyond waste management.
- RoutewareminorRouteware acquired Wastech (holding Rubicon Smart City and Rubicon Pro) from Rubicon. This was a strategic divestiture of Rubicon's fleet technology business completed in May 2024. Routeware CEO described the acquisition as bringing the company closer to providing end-to-end fleet services for the circular economy.
- CIVIX LLCcoreRubicon acquired CIVIX LLC, a routing software and solutions company based in Freiburg, Germany. The acquisition enhanced Rubicon's routing capabilities and expanded international market presence, integrating CIVIX's FleetRoute software into Rubicon's municipal and private fleet management products.
- Tower Compactor RentalsminorTower Compactor Rentals, based in Del Ray Beach, FL and Phoenix, AZ, provides waste and recycling compaction equipment nationwide. Third-generation company that has been working with Rubicon for seven years, renting balers and compactors to Rubicon and its customers.
- Jiffy JunkminorJiffy Junk provides junk collection and hauling services in 36 states. Founded in 2014, working with Rubicon for five years. In March 2023, Jiffy Junk pledged to plant 5,000 trees on behalf of Rubicon in partnership with Arbor Day Foundation.
- Independent Recycling Services (IRS)minorIndependent Recycling Services, headquartered in Chicago, is a waste and recycling hauler operating 50 trucks. Founded in 1976, IRS is a third-generation hauler working with Rubicon for more than ten years. Offers roll-off, rear-load, and lugger box service throughout Chicagoland.
- Pete & Pete Container Service, Inc.minorPete & Pete Container Service, based in Cleveland, Ohio, has been servicing Cuyahoga County since 1996. With 40+ trucks, 4,000 dumpsters, and 80+ employees, provides roll-off, front load, and dump truck services. Partnering with Rubicon since 2014.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves10 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Rubicon competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Waste Management, Inc. WM is the largest integrated waste services company in North America, operating collection, transfer, recycling, and disposal assets. Rubicon's marketplace layer targets the customer-facing digital experience that WM is now building out for multi-location enterprise accounts.
- Republic Services: Republic Services is the second-largest US solid waste hauler with nationwide collection and recycling operations. Its expanding digital customer platform and sustainability offerings directly compete with Rubicon's enterprise waste management value proposition.
- Waste Connections: Waste Connections is a top-three North American solid waste services provider with a strong presence in secondary and rural markets. Its enterprise sales motion and growing recycling vertical overlap with Rubicon's target customer base.
- Stericycle: Stericycle is the leading US provider of regulated waste management and compliance services (medical, hazardous, sharps). It is highly relevant to Rubicon's RUBICONRegWatch compliance and Mail-Back Recycling offerings for enterprise customers.
- Casella Waste Systems: Casella is a vertically integrated solid waste, recycling, and organics hauler concentrated in the Northeast US. Its Resource Solutions and organics-recycling offerings compete with Rubicon's circular-economy and sustainability-reporting product line for regional enterprise accounts.
Direct peers
- Routeware: Routeware acquired Rubicon's Wastech business (including RUBICONSmartCity, RUBICONPro, and FleetRoute) in May 2024, making it the most direct technical peer for fleet-route optimization serving municipal and private haulers.
- Recology: Recology is a 100% employee-owned integrated waste and recycling hauler serving Western US municipal and commercial customers. It overlaps with Rubicon on sustainability-led enterprise waste services and zero-waste consulting.
Emerging players
- Compology: Compology provides AI-camera-based waste-container monitoring and route optimization for commercial haulers and municipalities. It competes with Rubicon's former RUBICONPro and FleetRoute products in the smart-fleet niche.
- Bigbelly: Bigbelly is a smart-waste-bin manufacturer with cloud-connected sensor networks deployed in municipalities, universities, and corporate campuses. It overlaps with Rubicon's RUBICONSmartCity municipal fleet-management positioning.
Others
- Samsara: Samsara is a connected-operations IoT platform covering fleet telematics, route optimization, and sustainability reporting. It serves the same enterprise and public-sector buyer Rubicon targets and was a 2024 Rubicon Next Summit sponsor partner.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Rubicon social profiles
Digital presenceRubicon financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Rubicon leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles18 records
Rubicon subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Rubicon funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds12 records
Investors14 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Rubicon M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A4 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Rubicon
What does Rubicon do?
Rubicon provides cloud-based waste management, recycling, and smart city technology software that connects businesses, municipalities, contractors, and independent haulers through a digital marketplace spanning 13M+ service locations. Core products include RUBICONConnect (SMB waste management), RUBICONSmartCity (municipal fleet management with route optimization), RUBICONPro (private hauler fleet management), plus sustainability reporting, regulatory compliance (RUBICONRegWatch), Technical Advisory Services for circular economy consulting, and Rubicon Now on-demand dumpster rentals.
Is Rubicon a public or private company?
Rubicon is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was Rubicon founded?
Rubicon was founded in 2008. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Rubicon based?
Rubicon is headquartered in Lexington, United States, in the North America region.
How does Rubicon make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Platform Fees and Marketplace Commission is the primary driver. The others are full-Service Waste Management Solutions, technical Advisory Services and dumpster Rental (Rubicon Now).
Who are Rubicon's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Waste Management, Inc., Republic Services, Waste Connections, Stericycle and Casella Waste Systems. Direct peers are Routeware and Recology. Emerging players are Compology and Bigbelly. Samsara is listed as an others.
Does Rubicon have an API?
No public API is recorded for Rubicon.
What industry is Rubicon in?
Rubicon's product category is Waste Management Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUAHAJAL, Circular Economy & Waste/Materials Reporting (Zero waste, packaging), with a secondary code of BPALAFAJ, Universal Waste Management (Batteries, Lamps, Mercury Devices, Aerosols). Its NAICS code is 56299 and its SIC code is 4953.