Oscorp Energy raises A$1.3M pre-Seed to deploy AI vision for battery detection in waste streams

What's the deal? Oscorp EnergyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Sydney-based robotics startup, has raised A$1.3M in pre-seed funding to build AI-powered systems that detect and remove lithium-ion batteries from recycling waste streams. European VC Atlas led the round via its AI VB fund, with support from Antler and Antipodean CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.

CEO Ani Goswami cofounded Oscorp during Antler's Australian residency programme. Antler backed the company at the end of the residency and followed on in this raise.

The startup combines AI vision, edge computing, and robotics to identify battery-containing objects on fast-moving conveyor lines and remove them before they cause fires. It is collaborating with ASX-listed battery recycler LiviumDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → as a design partner, with plans to deploy the technology at one of Livium's sites.

Why now? Lithium-ion batteries are flooding waste streams as consumer electronics and e-mobility products reach end of life — and they're causing serious damage. An Australian Council of Recycling study estimates between 10,000 and 12,000 battery-related fires occur annually in Australian waste and recycling streams.

"People are still doing too much of the most hazardous and repetitive sorting by hand," Goswami said. "Our goal is to empower those workers with intelligent machines that make their jobs safer."

What could go wrong? Oscorp is pre-revenue and entering a sector where industrial hardware pilots can be slow and capital-intensive. Waste facilities vary widely in layout and throughput, which could complicate deployment. Competing AI-sorting startups — including well-funded players like AMP Robotics in the US — are also targeting the recycling market.

The signal: Atlas leading from Europe via a dedicated AI fund underscores growing cross-border investor appetite for AI-robotics applied to heavy industry pain points, even at the pre-seed stage. With Antler — one of the world's most active early-stage investment funds — backing Oscorp out of its Australian residency and following on here, the round fits a broader pattern of venture capital flowing into unglamorous circular-economy infrastructure where automation can unlock both safety gains and margin.

Read more: Startup Daily