Laundry Services: Startups Taking the Chore Out of Wash Day

The Growing Appeal of Laundry Delivery Services

For many, completing laundry tasks represents an unwelcome obligation. The process is often time-consuming and repetitive, leading to widespread dislike.

Consequently, a wave of innovative startups has arisen to alleviate this burden, offering convenient laundry solutions. This trend has attracted significant investment from venture capitalists eager to support both emerging and established companies in this sector.

Recent Funding Rounds

NoScrubs, a relatively new entrant to the market, recently secured $2 million in a pre-seed funding round. This investment was spearheaded by Initialized Capital and will fuel the growth of their on-demand laundry delivery service.

Simultaneously, Rinse, a more seasoned player, announced a $23 million Series D funding round led by LG Electronics. This capital injection will support the continued expansion of their 12-year-old business, which encompasses both laundry and dry cleaning services.

A Competitive Landscape

Despite differing operational approaches, both NoScrubs and Rinse exemplify the increasing venture capital interest in laundry-focused startups. They aim to succeed in a market where previous ventures have faced challenges.

NoScrubs: Speed and Affordability

Founded by former Instacart employee Matt O’Connor (CEO) and Sudhanshu Gautam (CTO), NoScrubs was established with the goal of providing a faster and more cost-effective laundry service.

The company asserts its ability to deliver neatly folded laundry within a few hours of pickup. Customers have the flexibility to choose between on-demand payment or a subscription model.

Currently, NoScrubs is exclusively available in Austin, Texas, where it is rapidly approaching a customer base of 1,000 unique users, as confirmed by O’Connor to TechCrunch.

Rinse: The “Uber of Laundry”

Rinse, positioning itself as the “Uber of laundry,” was founded in 2013 by Ajay Prakash (CEO), Sam Cheng (CTO), and James Joun.

To date, the company has raised over $70 million in funding. It operates in multiple major cities across the United States.

Rinse offers a quick turnaround time for laundry and dry cleaning, promising completion within 24 hours for an additional fee. Their standard turnaround is typically three to four days.

A key differentiator for Rinse is its commitment to employing its workers as full-time employees, rather than relying on independent contractors.

NoScrubs

The concept behind NoScrubs originated when O’Connor held the position of geographic expansion lead at Instacart, joining the company as one of its initial twenty team members.

He experienced dissatisfaction with his existing laundry service, perceiving it as both costly and inefficient in terms of turnaround time.

NoScrubs maintains that its rapid service completion provides a competitive advantage.

The company has established strategically positioned sites throughout Austin to reduce travel distances following service pickup.

These sites comprise a network of carefully selected laundromat partners and shared laundry facilities within apartment buildings.

Expansion plans include growth throughout Texas and into “the majority of the U.S.” by the close of 2026, according to O’Connor.

Currently, NoScrubs operates with a team of 13 employees.

Rinse

The concept for Rinse originated when Prakash and Joun, both alumni of Dartmouth College, along with Cheng, sought to modernize the traditional laundry process through a technology-driven solution.

Prakash brought experience in the startup world, while Joun’s family possessed over twenty years of experience running a physical dry cleaning establishment in South San Francisco. Initial testing of the service was conducted with a small group of individuals before the founders self-funded the company’s launch.

Rinse reports having processed over 100 million items of clothing since its inception. The company predominantly serves individual customers, but is actively expanding its business-to-business (B2B) offerings.

These B2B services cater to businesses like apartment complexes, coffee shops, and wellness centers.

Future plans for Rinse include the acquisition and rebranding of existing laundromats and dry cleaning businesses. Geographic expansion remains a key priority for the company as well.

Currently, Rinse employs approximately 600 delivery personnel and 100 staff members in other roles.

Similar to NoScrubs, Rinse provides both a subscription-based service and a premium, on-demand option for customers.

Investors

Zoe Perret, a Partner at Initialized, highlights NoScrubs’ distinctive approach. The company capitalizes on existing, unused capacity within laundromats and apartment buildings, avoiding the costs associated with owning and maintaining its own facilities.

Perret noted the promising early performance in their initial market. This suggests a viable route to expansion while preserving healthy profitability. She anticipates that as the business model is further validated, scaling into new geographic areas will become increasingly straightforward.

Frontier Venture Capital also participated in NoScrubs’ pre-seed funding round, alongside Initialized.

LG is actively supporting the venture by integrating Rinse’s services as an offering to customers who purchase their washing machines and dryers. The U.S. market for laundry services and dry cleaning is substantial, valued at approximately $15.75 billion in 2024. This indicates significant potential for multiple companies to succeed.

However, the industry has seen its challenges. Rinse acquired the assets of Washio after its closure in 2016. Similarly, Prim, a laundry service previously backed by Y Combinator, ceased operations in 2014.