CIRQUEL joins LX Circular - expanding Circular Innovation into Portugal
As CIRQUEL continues to grow across Europe, we are excited to announce that we have joined the latest cohort of the LX Circular programme in Lisbon - a leading initiative focused on accelerating startups building solutions for the circular economy.
LX Circular is designed for early-stage and growth startups tackling challenges across sustainability, resource efficiency, and circular business models. The programme brings together a strong ecosystem of partners, including organizations such as Impact Hub Lisbon, IES Social Business School, Unicorn Factory Lisboa, and public institutions like Câmara Municipal de Lisboa - all working together to support ventures that rethink how products, materials, and systems are designed, used, and reused. Previous cohorts have brought together startups across sectors such as sustainable materials, waste reduction, circular retail, and new consumption models, with a shared goal: to make circularity scalable and economically viable.
For CIRQUEL, joining LX Circular is a natural extension of our mission. We are building AI return intelligence infrastructure for post-purchase operations, enabling brands to assess product condition, forecast outcomes, and orchestrate the best next step - whether that is resale, repurposing, buy-backs or recycling. By reducing unnecessary logistics loops and unlocking value from returns and excess inventory, we help brands turn operational complexity into structured, data-driven decision-making. In a country like Portugal, with a strong textile and manufacturing heritage, these challenges, and opportunities, are especially relevant.
Our journey has always been inherently European. CIRQUEL was born in Berlin (at BEAM - venture builder backed by BEUMER Group), where we began shaping the foundation of our technology, while being built and scaled from Barcelona, one of Europe’s most dynamic startup ecosystems. From there, we have been expanding steadily, working with brands across Germany and Spain, and continuously refining how circularity can be implemented in real operational environments.
Joining LX Circular marks an important next step in this journey.
While we are not relocating, the programme opens the door to new partnerships, clients, and investor conversations in the Portuguese market, allowing us to bring our experience into a new ecosystem while learning from local industry leaders and innovators. It is also a reminder of how interconnected Europe’s innovation landscape has become: ideas, talent, and solutions increasingly move across borders, shaping more resilient and collaborative systems.
As we continue to grow, we are excited to contribute to the LX Circular community and to explore how CIRQUEL’s technology can support Portuguese brands in navigating the complexities of circularity and reverse logistics.
Stay tuned as we share more updates from the programme and our expansion into new markets.