What Matoha Instrumentation does

Matoha Instrumentation Ltd. is a London-based private company founded in 2018 that designs and manufactures near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy devices paired with proprietary machine-learning algorithms for instant material identification. The company sells three product families — FabriTell (textiles), PlasTell (plastics), and CarpeTell (carpets and flooring, launched November 2025) — each available in handheld, desktop, and bench form factors, plus an integrated S-Bench sorting workstation. Its core technology shines infrared light (1550–1950 nm) onto samples, measures the spectral response, and uses onboard AI to identify composition in under one second, claiming 95–99%+ accuracy for supported materials including 9+ pure textiles, 13+ blends, and up to 24 plastic types. Devices are supported by the Matoha Cloud platform (REST/HTTPS API, PDF reporting, cross-platform mobile/web) and an open-source communication library (mcl) on GitLab.

The company monetizes through both one-off hardware sales (e.g., FabriTell Handheld from £4,199) and a three-tier subscription model (Basic £89/mo, Plus £199/mo, Premium £349/mo with a 2-year contract) that bundles discounted hardware with cloud access, API access, training, and warranty. Go-to-market combines direct e-commerce (matoha.com), a global network of distribution partners, and demo-driven enterprise sales. Customers are concentrated in textile recycling (ReWeave, Weturn, TexCycle), plastic recycling (FutureMakers, Omnicycle, Green Worms), and R&D/university use cases across 60+ countries, with named ecosystem partners including Fashion For Good, Circle Economy, CETIA, and Circular.fashion on circular-footwear projects. The company is co-founded by Martin Holicky (PhD, CEO), Hans Chan (DPhil, CTO), and Lieve Vanrusselt (CDO), has raised approximately £1.95M led by Archipelago Ventures in April 2025, and is supported by Nvidia Inception, Amazon Sustainability Accelerator, IOP Startup Innovation Award, and Forbes 30 Under 30 (Europe) recognition.

Name

Matoha Instrumentation

Legal name

Matoha Instrumentation Ltd.

Website

https://matoha.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Matoha Instrumentation is a London-based company founded in 2018 that builds NIR spectroscopy devices with proprietary AI algorithms for instant identification of textiles, plastics, and carpets, serving recycling, fashion, and R&D customers across 60+ countries via hardware sales and subscription.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Material Identification Hardware

NAICS

Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519), Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451)

SIC

Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)

akta.pro primary industry

Machine Vision & Optical Sensing (Cameras, 3D vision, LiDAR, illumination) (IMAGAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Advanced/Optical Sorting & Quality Control Services (NIR, AI, Robotics) (BPALADAH)

Keywords

• NIR spectroscopy devices
• Material identification instruments
• Textile recycling equipment
• Plastics identification tools
• Carpet composition analyzers

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Hardware Device Sales: One-off purchase or subscription-based hardware sales. Devices include FabriTell (textiles), PlasTell (plastics), and CarpeTell (carpet/flooring) in Handheld, Desktop, and Bench form factors. Subscription model offers discounted hardware with ongoing software/cloud access.
2. Software Subscriptions: Three-tier subscription model (Basic £89/mo, Plus £199/mo, Premium £349/mo) providing cloud access, report generation, API access, training, and warranty coverage. Standard 2-year contract period.
3. API Access: Premium or Plus subscription required for API functionality to access measurement data from applications via REST/HTTPS API.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Matoha Instrumentation designs, manufactures and sells near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy hardware devices — FabriTell (textiles), PlasTell (plastics) and CarpeTell (carpet/flooring) — combined with embedded AI/ML identification algorithms. The devices are offered in Handheld, Desktop and Bench form factors and are supported by the Matoha Cloud data platform and S-Bench sorting workstation for recycling, fashion, and material-sorting workflows.

Product overview

Matoha Instrumentation is a material identification technology company offering a portfolio of NIR spectroscopy devices and cloud services. The core product line consists of three device families: FabriTell (textile identification), PlasTell (plastics identification), and CarpeTell (flooring/carpet identification), each available in multiple form factors (Handheld, Desktop, Bench). All devices use near-infrared reflectance/transmissive spectroscopy combined with AI-powered algorithms for real-time material identification. These devices are supported by the Matoha Cloud platform (subscription-based), which provides data reporting, PDF generation, and API access. An S-Bench smart sorting workstation integrates the hardware and data capture for high-throughput textile sorting operations. Hardware is available via one-off purchase or subscription plans (Plus and Premium) that bundle discounted hardware with cloud access, software updates, warranty, and training.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FabriTell: NIR-based textile/fabric material identification device. Available in Handheld, Desktop, and Bench form factors. Identifies 9 pure materials and 13 common textile blends in under 1 second.
• PlasTell
• CarpeTell
• Matoha Cloud
• S-Bench

Products and services

• FabriTell Near-infrared spectroscopy device for instant textile and fabric material identification. Identifies pure fibres (cotton, polyester, nylon, elastane, viscose, acrylic, silk, acetate, polypropylene) and 12+ two-component blends with composition percentages. Available in Handheld, Desktop, and Bench form factors with AI-powered identification algorithms built in. Targeted at recyclers, sorters, fashion brands, and resellers.
• PlasTell Near-infrared spectroscopy device for instant plastics and polymers identification. Identifies up to 24 common plastics including PET, PE, PVC, PS, PC, ABS, PP, PLA, PETG, PU, PMMA, and engineering plastics. Desktop and Bench models feature dual-lamp technology for both transparent and opaque samples. Available in Handheld, Desktop, and Bench form factors. Targeted at plastic recyclers and manufacturers.
• CarpeTell Near-infrared spectroscopy device for rapid identification of carpet and flooring materials. Identifies PP, Nylon 6, Nylon 66, PET, PTT, Wool, PVC, PU, and three blend types. Handheld form factor with 12+ hour battery life, improved ergonomics, holster, replaceable battery, and separate control/trigger buttons. Targeted at flooring installers, facility managers, and recycling professionals.
• Matoha Cloud Cloud platform providing real-time measurement reporting, PDF report generation, and REST/HTTPS API access for data export and integration with internal systems. Works alongside the Matoha mobile and tablet app (iOS and Android) and web interface. Requires a Plus or Premium subscription for cloud features. Data hosted on Google Cloud (eu-west-2 region, UK) with backups in UK and EU.
• S-Bench Smart sorting workstation designed for sorters, resellers, and returns teams to capture item-level data at speed. Combines material identification hardware with integrated data capture and tracking capabilities to enable faster, data-driven decisions on garments. Targeted at high-throughput textile sorting operations.
• Matoha App Mobile and tablet application (iOS 15+ and Android 6+) and web interface for connecting to devices, saving and managing measurements, configuring LED indicators, enabling/disabling materials, and accessing cloud data. Available as a desktop web app at matoha.cloud.

Quantifiable outcome

• 95-99%+ accuracy for supported materials when measurement guidelines are followed
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Fashion For GoodcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFashion For Good launched the Closing the Footwear Loop project with Matoha's FabriTell device used for material identification. Training conducted by Fashion For Good. Strategic partner in circular fashion initiatives.
• Circle EconomycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCircle Economy developed methodology for the Closing the Footwear Loop project. Worked with CETIA and Fashion For Good to examine 1,500 discarded shoes for circularity barriers.
• CETIA (Centre d'Essais et d'Expérimentations pour les Industries du Textile et de l'Habillement)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted hands-on analysis at facility in Hendaye, France for the Closing the Footwear Loop project examining discarded shoes.
• Circular.fashionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Closing the Footwear Loop project developing circular design principles for footwear.
• CircminorOthersTextile recycling company mentioned alongside Matoha in WIPO article on textile recycling innovations. Both companies developing advanced textile recycling methods.
• AmbercycleminorOthersTextile recycling company mentioned alongside Matoha in WIPO article on textile recycling innovations.
• DePolyminorOthersTextile recycling company mentioned alongside Matoha in WIPO article on textile recycling innovations.
• EvrnuminorOthersTextile recycling company mentioned alongside Matoha in WIPO article on textile recycling innovations.
• PurFiminorOthersTextile recycling company mentioned alongside Matoha in WIPO article on textile recycling innovations.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights8 records

Broad incumbents

• TOMRA: Global leader in sensor-based sorting for recycling, including NIR/optical sorters installed in MRFs worldwide — competes with Matoha's S-Bench and broader recycling-sorting value proposition.
• Pellenc ST: Major supplier of optical and NIR-based sorting equipment for solid waste and recycling — broad incumbent overlapping with Matoha's recycling vertical.
• Steinert: Industrial sensor sorting equipment maker (NIR, XRT, magnetic) for waste and recycling streams; serves the same end customers as Matoha at larger facility scale.

Direct peers

• Si-Ware Systems: MEMS-based NIR spectral sensing company offering chip-level spectroscopy solutions that can be integrated into third-party devices, comparable to Matoha's optical-sensing core.
• trinamiX: BASF spin-off that builds portable NIR-based material identification solutions for plastics, textiles, and other recyclables — the closest direct competitor to Matoha's FabriTell/PlasTell product lines.
• Consumer Physics (SCiO): Maker of the SCiO handheld NIR micro-spectrometer for material scanning; targets similar SMB and consumer/professional use cases for material identification.
• Spectral Engines: Finnish company developing compact NIR spectral sensors and modules for industrial and material identification applications — direct technology peer to Matoha.

Emerging players

• Renewcell: Sweden-based cellulose textile recycler with a Circulose supply chain; competes in the same fashion-brand circularity workflows that drive FabriTell demand.
• Ambercycle: Polyester-to-polyester chemical recycling startup; co-mentioned with Matoha in textile recycling innovation reports — overlapping sustainability/customer base.
• Circ: Textile-to-textile recycling startup also referenced alongside Matoha in WIPO on textile recycling innovations — adjacent player using material-ID to enable circular fashion.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/matohascience
• Instagraminstagram.com/matohascience

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Matoha Instrumentation