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Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Prism Worldwide, a tire-recycling startup based in Kirkland, Washington, raised $40 million in Series A and A1 funding, according to GeekWire’s Jan. 31, 2025 report. Jim Sinegal, Costco’s co-founder and former CEO, and Columbia Pacific Advisors led the round. The reported Costco connections are through individual investors and a co-founder’s former business—not a disclosed investment or commercial deal with Costco.
What the $40 million raise means
GeekWire reported that Prism closed the Series A and A1 rounds in November; the report does not explicitly state the year for that November. Sinegal and Columbia Pacific Advisors led the funding, and Prism co-founder Robert “Spike” Anderson also participated. The company is not Costco, and the report does not say Costco invested in it. GeekWire’s report, published Jan. 31, 2025, is the source for the funding and relationship details.
How Prism is connected to Costco
The reported ties are indirect. Sinegal is Costco’s co-founder and former CEO. Anderson, a Prism co-founder and board chair, previously led Anderson Daymon Worldwide, later known as ADW; GeekWire describes that business as Costco’s largest supplier of goods and services. Anderson sold his former company to Acosta Sales & Marketing in 2014, according to the report.
Those connections do not establish that Costco invested in Prism, bought its material, or entered a commercial agreement with the startup. GeekWire names no Costco deal or downstream customer.
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What Prism does with used tires
Prism says its patented technology reverses tire vulcanization, a process that gives rubber its durable, cross-linked structure, and converts used tires into polymer. The company makes polymer pellets at a New York manufacturing and research-and-development facility, then blends the material with other ingredients to meet customer specifications, as GeekWire reported. The story does not include independent technical testing of the process or its output.
Common end-of-life routes described in the report include burning tires as fuel, grinding them for uses such as sports fields and asphalt, incorporating tire material into consumer products such as mudflaps or new tires, and sending tires to landfills. Prism’s approach is intended to produce a polymer with a broader range of potential uses than pulverized tire material. The material may replace some virgin inputs and can be re-vulcanized, according to the report.
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Where the material is reportedly being used
GeekWire reported applications in rubber car mats, plastic tote containers, and racks used to ship goods. It did not identify the manufacturers, retail brands, or specific product models. That means the report is not evidence that any particular consumer product sold online contains Prism polymer.
The distinction matters for shoppers: an application category is not the same as a named product or a retail listing. Prism’s reported business is supplying customized industrial material, not marketing a disclosed line of consumer products.
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What the CEO said—and what remains unverified
CEO Bob Abramowitz described Prism as commercially viable, said it had more than 20 employees, and expected sales in the low eight figures that year. Those are statements reported in January 2025, not verified current figures. He also said customers were increasingly interested in sustainability goals and low-carbon targets, and characterized Prism’s material as lower in climate impact and potentially cost-competitive with new material.
The report provides no lifecycle assessment, quantified emissions comparison, price comparison, production-capacity figure, current revenue, or customer list. The environmental and cost claims should therefore be read as company statements, not independently measured results. GeekWire also attributed to Prism the estimate that 300 million used tires are discarded in the United States each year; the report does not independently validate that figure.
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What the funding does not establish for consumers
The raise is evidence of financing for Prism’s business, not proof that a consumer-facing product is available or that Costco carries one. The article identifies industrial uses but no specific SKU, named buyer, or retail brand. It also does not establish Prism’s current operating status or whether the reported sales expectations were met.
For a personal-finance reader, the practical takeaway is to avoid treating the Costco association as an endorsement, a Costco investment, or a shopping lead. Anyone evaluating a product marketed as recycled rubber would need product-level information about its materials and manufacturer; this report does not identify such a product from Prism.
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