Cents, the fully integrated software, hardware, and payments technology platform built for the laundry industry, has closed a $140m Series C funding round — the largest single software investment ever made in the laundry vertical, it claimed.
The round was led by Sumeru Equity Partners, with additional participation from Series B lead Camber Creek. The raise is intended to accelerate Cents’ mission to bring modern technology to one of the most enduring and underserved small business sectors in the US.
Proceeds from the investment will be directed towards accelerating Cents’ AI-powered product suite, deepening investment in customer support and experience, expanding its product line for laundromats and dry cleaners, and strengthening partnerships with route operators and equipment distributors.
The funding will also support development of new payment hardware infrastructure — proprietary technology designed to improve affordability and accessibility of modernised payment experiences for end customers.
As part of the investment, Sumeru managing partner and co-founder Sanjeet Mitra will join Cents’ board of directors.
Cents serves over 4,500 laundromat locations across the US, processing $1bn in payments annually. The platform combines AI-native business management software, proprietary hardware, and integrated payments, offering tools including point-of-sale systems, on-machine payments, marketing automation, AI customer service, and pickup and delivery services.
Cents co-founder and CEO Alex Jekowsky said, “Owning a laundry business is one of the purest expressions of the American entrepreneurial dream, and provides an essential service woven into the fabric of our everyday lives. These entrepreneurs — from first-generation owners to multi-unit operators, community anchors to tech-driven innovators — all share the same relentless drive.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with Sumeru to invest deeper in our industry and to bring a level of innovation, support, and service that these operators deserve.”
Sumeru growth partner Chris Litster and principal Nathan Stanley said, “Alex, Gilli, and the Cents team have built the go-to operating system for modern laundry and garment care.
“This is a critical, global industry that has benefited from Cents’ innovation in digitizing operations and payments technology so operators can run their businesses better around the clock. Cents took an operator-first mindset and invested heavily to build its category-defining product suite — enabling laundry and garment care SMBs to grow, manage, and understand their businesses like never before. We are excited to partner with the company and look forward to seeing what the team builds next for this growing customer base.”
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