Olyns
Olyns manufactures AI-powered reverse vending machines (Olyns Cubes) that combine beverage container recycling with 55-inch digital retail media advertising. The company serves retailers including Safeway, Walmart, and Target as host partners, and consumer brands like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Mars Wrigley as advertisers on its screen network.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersSanta Clara, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Olyns does
Olyns is a venture-backed private company founded in 2019 and headquartered in San Jose, California, that operates a dual-purpose technology platform combining AI-powered recycling with digital out-of-home (DOOH) retail media. Its core product, the Olyns Cube, is an AI-driven reverse vending machine that uses computer vision to identify, sort, and compact beverage containers (plastic, aluminum, glass) without barcode scanning, achieving a 99% material recovery rate. Each Cube holds more than 2,200 containers and is fitted with a 55-inch digital screen, transforming recycling infrastructure into a point-of-entry advertising channel at major retailers.
The company serves three distinct customer segments: retailers such as Safeway, Walmart, Target, Lucky Supermarkets, and Foodmaxx, who host Cubes at store entrances in exchange for customer service and sustainability alignment; consumer brands including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Mars Wrigley, Meta, Molson Coors, and Land O'Lakes, which purchase advertising inventory on the Cube screens; and individual consumers, who use the Olyns mobile app (iOS and Android) for touchless NFC-based container counting, gamified rewards, leaderboards, environmental impact metrics, and electronic cash-out via PayPal. Technical infrastructure includes integrations with BrightSign for digital signage and WovenMedia/Vistar Media for programmatic ad delivery across platforms including Place Exchange, Hivestack, and Broadsign Reach.
Olyns generates revenue from two streams: programmatic and direct advertising sales on its Cube media network (the primary monetization layer given brand-side demand), and transaction fees from processing beverage container redemptions in bottle-bill states, where it also manages state certification, compliance reporting, and deposit refunds for host retailers. Distribution is anchored by direct retail partnerships, while advertising inventory is scaled through reseller and programmatic channels. To date, Olyns has recycled over 12.3 million containers and operates in California, Georgia, and additional US states, with a 2025 plan to deploy over 400 Cubes across California.
Olyns firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Olyns
- Legal name
- Olyns Inc.
- Website
- https://olyns.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Olyns manufactures AI-powered reverse vending machines (Olyns Cubes) that combine beverage container recycling with 55-inch digital retail media advertising. The company serves retailers including Safeway, Walmart, and Target as host partners, and consumer brands like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Mars Wrigley as advertisers on its screen network.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Olyns industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Smart Recycling Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Vending Machine Operators (445132), Totalizing Fluid Meter and Counting Device Manufacturing (334514)
- SIC
- Totalizing Fluid Meters & Counting Devices (3824), Glass & Glassware, Pressed Or Blown (3220)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Packaging Recovery & Closed-Loop Programs (Take-Back, Deposit-Return, EPR Support) (IMALAMAF)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Trade-in, Buyback & Instant Cashout Recommerce (CRAFAGAL)
Keywords
Where Olyns is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Santa Clara
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Olyns business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Retail Media Advertising: Olyns generates revenue by selling advertising space on the 55-inch digital screens mounted on Olyns Cubes, which are located at retail entrances. Brands pay to display ads to consumers entering stores. Advertising inventory is sold through partnerships with Screenverse, Vistar Media, and Wovenmedia, making inventory available on programmatic platforms including Vistar, Place Exchange, Hivestack, and Broadsign Reach.
- Beverage Container Redemption Processing: Olyns earns transaction fees from processing beverage container redemptions in states with bottle bill programs. The company handles state certification, compliance reporting, bottle bill deposit refunds, and material collection and transport for retailers hosting Olyns Cubes.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Olyns product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Olyns manufactures and deploys AI-powered reverse vending machines (the Olyns Cube) that combine beverage container recycling (plastic, aluminum, glass) with digital out-of-home retail media advertising on built-in 55-inch screens. The Cube uses computer vision to identify and sort containers without barcode scanning at 99% material recovery, while a companion mobile app provides touchless NFC interaction with electronic cash redemption via PayPal. Revenue is generated through selling programmatic advertising inventory on the Cube screens and through transaction fees on beverage container redemption processing.
Product overview
Olyns offers a dual-purpose technology platform combining AI-powered recycling and retail media. The core product is the Olyns Cube, an AI-driven reverse vending machine that identifies and sorts beverage containers (plastic, aluminum, glass) using computer vision, achieving 99% material recovery. Each Cube features a 55-inch digital screen, transforming it into a retail media network for brands. The Olyns Mobile App enables consumers to interact with Cubes touchlessly, track deposits, earn rewards, and view environmental impact. The company operates as both a recycling infrastructure provider (installing Cubes at retailers) and a media network operator (selling advertising on the Cube screens).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Olyns Cube: AI-powered reverse vending machine that collects and sorts beverage containers (plastic, aluminum, glass) while displaying advertising on 55-inch screens. Combines recycling functionality with retail media network.
Products and services
- Olyns Cube AI-powered reverse vending machine (RVM) that collects and sorts beverage containers (plastic bottles, aluminum cans, glass bottles) into separate bins using computer vision, achieving a 99% material recovery rate. Each Cube is equipped with a 55-inch digital display screen that displays advertising and is deployed at retail store entrances for high-traffic consumer access.
- Olyns Mobile App Consumer-facing mobile application available on iOS App Store and Google Play Store that enables touchless NFC interaction with the Olyns Cube. Provides automatic container counting, electronic cash withdrawals via PayPal, coupons, rewards, leaderboards, and environmental impact metrics.
- Olyns Media Network Digital out-of-home (DOOH) retail media network featuring 55-inch digital display screens on Olyns Cubes located at retail entrances. Enables consumer brands to advertise to shoppers at the point of entry to retail locations, with programmatic ad buying available through partners including Screenverse, Vistar Media, and WovenMedia on platforms such as Vistar, Place Exchange, Hivestack, and Broadsign Reach.
- Olyns Recycling Platform End-to-end beverage container recycling service offering for retail location hosts. Requires only 12 square feet of space and a 120V power outlet from the host retailer; Olyns handles Cube installation and maintenance, material collection and transport, state certification, compliance reporting, bottle bill deposit refunds, and customer service.
Quantifiable outcome
- 99% material recovery rate through AI-powered sorting
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Olyns
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Olyns technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
AI capability3 records
Feature5 records
Olyns partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- BrightSigncoreBrightSign provides the digital signage players powering Olyns' Cube AI-driven recycling platform and retail media channel screens. The case study showcases the collaboration between Olyns, Wovenmedia, and BrightSign.
- WovenMediacoreWovenMedia, a retail media solutions provider, partnered with Vistar Media to provide advertising services using the Olyns recycling retail media network. This partnership enables digital advertising on Olyns Cubes through established OOH advertising technology infrastructure.
- Vistar MediacoreVistar Media, an OOH advertising technology provider, partnered with WovenMedia to enable programmatic advertising on Olyns' recycling machine screen network.
- ScreenverseflagshipScreenverse, a DOOH network operator and ad management company, partnered with Olyns to sell advertising inventory from Olyns' recycling screen network. The partnership enables programmatic ad buying and increases access to high-value advertisers through Screenverse's platform.
- Mars WrigleyflagshipOlyns collaborated with Mars Wrigley to launch the Sweet Rewards Challenge, a gamified recycling program for rigid plastic candy and gum containers in Northern California. The partnership encouraged consumers to deposit qualifying containers in Olyns reverse vending machines for a chance to win rewards.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Olyns competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- TOMRA: Global market leader in reverse vending machines and collection solutions for beverage containers. Directly comparable to Olyns because both sell RVMs to retailers for bottle-bill redemption, but TOMRA is a scaled incumbent with established infrastructure and downstream materials processing that Olyns must compete against for retailer placement.
- Sielaff: German manufacturer of reverse vending machines for beverage container redemption. Comparable as a competing RVM hardware supplier with established European DRS deployments that could expand into US bottle-bill states.
- Envipco: Specialist manufacturer of reverse vending machines and recycling technology for beverage containers. Directly comparable as a competing RVM provider targeting the same DRS/geographic markets as Olyns, though without Olyns' integrated DOOH advertising revenue stream.
Others
- Place Exchange: Programmatic supply-side platform for DOOH advertising, including Olyns' Cube inventory. Comparable as an enabler/partner for Olyns' media-network revenue stream and as a comparable DOOH-monetization technology provider in the broader retail media network ecosystem.
- Vistar Media: OOH advertising technology and programmatic platform that already monetizes Olyns' Cube screens. Comparable as an enabling technology partner and as a peer in the broader DOOH/retail-media ad-tech stack that defines Olyns' secondary revenue model.
Emerging players
- AMP Robotics: Applies AI and computer vision to materials recovery facility (MRF) sortation of recyclables. Comparable to Olyns in its use of AI vision for waste/recycling classification, though focused on industrial-scale MRFs rather than consumer-facing RVMs and retail media.
- EverestLabs: AI-driven recycling sortation company using computer vision and robotics to recover valuable materials from waste streams. Comparable to Olyns on the AI-vision-for-recycling technology axis, though operating at the MRF/back-of-house level rather than the consumer RVM layer.
- Greyparrot: Provides AI-powered waste analytics and computer vision for material recovery. Comparable through shared AI-vision technology for identifying and sorting packaging, although Greyparrot focuses on analytics rather than consumer-facing redemption hardware.
- Recycleye: AI and robotics company for waste recognition and sorting. Comparable on the AI-driven recycling technology axis but focused on industrial waste streams rather than the consumer reverse-vending and retail-media model Olyns has built.
Broad incumbents
- Rubicon Technologies: Digital marketplace and technology provider for waste and recycling services. Comparable as a broader incumbent in the recycling-tech category serving retailers and brands, though operating in a different layer (haulers and MRFs) than Olyns' consumer-facing RVMs.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Olyns social profiles
Digital presenceOlyns financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Olyns leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Olyns funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Olyns M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Olyns
What does Olyns do?
Olyns manufactures and deploys AI-powered reverse vending machines (the Olyns Cube) that combine beverage container recycling (plastic, aluminum, glass) with digital out-of-home retail media advertising on built-in 55-inch screens. The Cube uses computer vision to identify and sort containers without barcode scanning at 99% material recovery, while a companion mobile app provides touchless NFC interaction with electronic cash redemption via PayPal. Revenue is generated through selling programmatic advertising inventory on the Cube screens and through transaction fees on beverage container redemption processing.
Is Olyns a public or private company?
Olyns is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Olyns founded?
Olyns was founded in 2019. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Olyns based?
Olyns is headquartered in Santa Clara, United States, in the North America region.
How does Olyns make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Retail Media Advertising is the primary driver. The others are beverage Container Redemption Processing.
Who are Olyns's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are TOMRA, Sielaff and Envipco. Others are Place Exchange and Vistar Media. Emerging players are AMP Robotics, EverestLabs, Greyparrot and Recycleye. Rubicon Technologies is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Olyns have an API?
No public API is recorded for Olyns.
What industry is Olyns in?
Olyns's product category is Smart Recycling Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMALAMAF, Packaging Recovery & Closed-Loop Programs (Take-Back, Deposit-Return, EPR Support), with a secondary code of CRAFAGAL, Trade-in, Buyback & Instant Cashout Recommerce. Its NAICS code is 445132 and its SIC code is 3824.