American Circular founders Adam Hohlt and Kevin Smith have had an interest in emerging technologies for a while. More so, they saw an opportunity to assist with disposition of electronic assets on a local level.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, they launched the artificial intelligence-supported recycling and refurbishment company. Hohlt, Smith and their team operate a facility in Clearwater, which is designed for data destruction and processing capabilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They joined the St. Petersburg-based spARK Labs by ARK Invest incubator this spring. An official announcement was made this month.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that Kevin and I both recognized that this is a kind of unique time in history,\u201d Hohlt said. \u201cThe tools that are available now to work with are advancing very rapidly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The business partners realized that many people do not know how to properly recycle electronics. More critically, local e-waste is often shipped out of state or overseas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat creates a ton of compliance complications and extra costs,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt\u2019s not very true to the thinking of recycling.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
This led to the idea of creating a Tampa Bay area facility. American Circular has developed an AI native platform to help in the process.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bedrock of it is we use computer vision camera systems throughout our facility,\u201d Hohlt said. \u201cThat feeds into our electronics database, which has about 20,000 electronic devices cataloged with schematics, materials, component values and resale values. That database, paired with our vision system, allows us to sort through electronics very quickly and to find value where someone else might just put the items in a shredder.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The system can even identify if electronics have \u201cpotentially hazardous materials.\u201d This lets Hohlt and his team know if they need to handle the asset disposition in a particular way with regards to safety. One of the key challenges of the industry is ensuring that all data is correctly erased before electronics are recycled or destroyed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re a bank, hospital, university or a government, there are certain standards that you have to meet when it comes to your data and how your devices are processed at the end of their lives,\u201d he said. \u201cOur facility is built out to that degree. We have security systems throughout it all the way up to a military grade handling of electronics.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The American Circular team resells electronics whenever possible. Additionally, they are pursuing partnerships with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity. This can put devices \u201cback into the community in a meaningful way.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Working at spARK Labs by ARK Invest was an opportunity that neither Hohlt or Smith could refuse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hohlt explained that he and Smith have been fans of ARK Invest and its founder Cathie Wood for about a decade. The company releases an annual Big Ideas report, which discusses emerging technologies, trends and how different industries are converging.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The two entrepreneurs found inspiration in the 2026 report and used it to help shape American Circular\u2019s business model. Hohlt said that the document \u201cgave us real belief in our thesis.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Interestingly, Hohlt and Smith were not aware that ARK Invest had relocated to St. Petersburg from New York. They were also not familiar with spARK Labs by ARK Invest. Having a presence at the incubator is \u201cvery surreal\u201d for Hohlt. The founders now \u201cwork closely\u201d with the ARK Invest and spARK Labs by ARK Invest teams and receive their \u201cguidance and input.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nice to be a part of a community that has real excitement and passion,\u201d he said. \u201cYou run into a lot of things that you don\u2019t necessarily know about. You may think about these topics, but you don\u2019t know them. It\u2019s nice to be able to know that we can go there and get confirmation in our thinking or get input that changes our thinking.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n