In this interview, Mélodie Promeneur, Head of Business Development at Altaroad, takes us behind the scenes of the startup and shares how they are helping companies reduce their environmental footprint by deploying AI solutions.
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What problem does your startup address and what solution does it propose?
The construction and waste management sectors face massive pressure to decarbonize, yet material tracking remains largely manual, fragmented, and prone to errors. This “data gap” leads to compliance risks, operational inefficiencies, and a lack of real-time visibility over carbon emissions.
Altaroad bridges this gap by transforming physical waste flows into actionable, compliant digital data. Our “Full-Loop” ecosystem combines advanced AI computer vision (Recomat) and a centralized platform (Digitrack). By automating material recognition and weight tracking directly on-site, we enable industrial players to optimize sorting, ensure flawless regulatory compliance, and accurately measure their environmental footprint in real time.
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How and why did you start this entrepreneurial adventure? Any advice from your experience that you would like to pass on to future entrepreneurs?
Altaroad was born from a deep scientific conviction and a practical observation. Coming from a research background, our cofounders realized that while advanced technology existed in laboratories, heavy industries lacked the digital tools required to make an immediate environmental impact. They wanted to build a bridge between deep-tech innovation and rugged, real-world industrial environments.
If I had one piece of advice for future entrepreneurs, it would be to stay close to the field. Innovation shouldn’t be built in a vacuum. By working directly on-site with our early partners, we developed a solution that is robust, practical, and highly aligned with user workflows. Trust your vision, but let market realities shape your product.
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How do you expect the sector to evolve? And what expectations do you have for your start-up?
Driven by regulations like the EU Green Deal, the waste sector is transitioning rapidly from passive reporting to predictive, automated circularity. Companies will soon need to digitally certify exactly where their materials originated and how they were recycled. AI and automated tracking will become the absolute standard for any sustainable supply chain.
For Altaroad, our expectation is to anchor ourselves as the European leader in automated material traceability. Having secured key validations like the EIC Accelerator and French Tech 2030, we are now focused on scaling our solutions across international markets, expanding into high-value waste streams, and helping heavy industries achieve true zero-waste circularity.
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Any new developments in the near future that you would like to share with the rest of the startups?
We are continuously pushing the boundaries of our computer vision capabilities. A major focus for us right now is the deployment of our AI algorithms for high-value waste streams, specifically metallic and electronic waste. This development allows us to tackle even more complex industrial sorting challenges, helping sectors like aerospace and manufacturing recover critical raw materials with unprecedented digital precision.
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In what areas would you like to collaborate with other startups, companies or other organisations?
We strongly believe in ecosystem collaboration to accelerate the green transition. We are primarily looking to collaborate with industrial companies (such as aerospace, manufacturing, or heavy construction players) who want to co-innovate and calibrate our AI for specific, complex material flows. We also welcome partnerships with smart city platforms and environmental organizations to seamlessly integrate our real-time circularity data into broader corporate and public ESG frameworks.
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You are currently a finalist in the Open Call for Waste Management Startups, which received more than 160 applications from over 50 countries. We wish you the best of luck at the final event. Could you tell us about your experience with the call?
Being named a finalist among more than 160 international applications is a tremendous honor and a fantastic validation for the Altaroad team. The experience with this Open Call has been incredibly rewarding and professional. The selection process was highly competitive, and the team at TheCircularLab has provided outstanding, seamless support throughout the journey. It is inspiring to be part of an initiative that brings together the most innovative global solutions to tackle pressing waste challenges!