Sachin Tendulkar Invests in Recykal, Extending $23 Million Round
Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has become a strategic investor in Hyderabad-based Recykal, adding to the $23 million bridge round the waste management platform closed in June. The company plans to scale its deposit return system and expand overseas.
Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has invested in Recykal, a Hyderabad-based waste management and circular economy platform, as a strategic investor, the company said in a statement on Friday, November 13, 2026. The sachin tendulkar invests recykal deal extends the $23 million bridge round the company closed in June.
A bridge round is a funding round that tides a company over, usually before a larger raise. This one combined primary and secondary capital. Primary capital is new money going into the company, while secondary capital is existing shares changing hands.
Where the money comes from
The round drew on existing investors and select new family offices, according to the company. Recykal did not give a figure for Tendulkar's stake.
The company said it is using the funds in three ways. It will strengthen its technology platform and Open Marketplace, scale up its Deposit Return System (DRS), and expand into overseas markets.
What the investor will do
Tendulkar will help Recykal in its campaign to make responsible waste behavior an everyday habit, the company said. The investment is meant to support efforts to promote that behavior and to expand technology-led packaging waste recovery.
"What drew me to Recykal was seeing how technology was being used to solve an everyday problem," Tendulkar said. He added that the company's mission to use technology to drive behavioral change across one billion people "is what really connected with me."
How the deposit return system works
The DRS brings together technology, logistics and behavioral change to change how packaging waste is recovered, according to Abhay Deshpande, CEO and co-founder of Recykal. In general, such systems encourage people to return used packaging so it can be collected and recycled.
Recykal was founded in 2015. It also develops AI-enabled hardware, including reverse vending machines, which collect used packaging from consumers. The company said the machines are designed and made in India.
Scale of the business
The company claimed it has channeled more than 30 lakh tonnes of waste. A lakh is an Indian unit equal to 100,000.
Recykal said it works with 650 brands, including Hindustan Unilever, Samsung and BMW. It also works with more than 5,000 aggregators and recyclers, the businesses that collect and process waste materials.
