Divert, Inc. Secures Funding to Scale Infrastructure Addressing the Wasted Food Crisis in North America

New funding and board appointments signal international support for the company's accelerated expansion of solutions to advance food system circularity

WEST CONCORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Divert, Inc., a circular economy company on a mission to prevent food from being wasted, has secured new funding to support their growing operations and bring wasted food solutions to more retailers and manufacturers. The funding, led by Wittington Investments, Limited, reflects the gravity of the wasted food problem across North America and recognizes Divert’s scalable solutions.

“This investment is a strong endorsement of what our team has built over 19 years as we continue to scale our infrastructure to solve the wasted food crisis,” said Ryan Begin, CEO and co-founder, Divert. “This funding underscores confidence in our industry leadership, proven ability to turn vision into infrastructure at scale, and the measurable impact of our solutions. We are eager to expand our footprint in North America and continue to deliver value to customers, communities, and investors.”

In 2023, the U.S. generated nearly 74 million tons of surplus food, and in Canada, over 46% of food is wasted every year. With this new investment fueling expansion plans, Divert is accelerating its business momentum, including the buildout of its Integrated Diversion & Energy Facilities in Longview, Washington and Lexington, North Carolina, which are expected to commence operations later this year.

Through these facilities, Divert is able to recoup the value in unsold non-donatable food by leveraging anaerobic digestion to transform food and liquids into beneficial products—including carbon-negative renewable energy, soil amendment and nitrogen-rich fertilizer. The company’s model supports major food retailers and manufacturers in achieving organic waste mandate compliance, meeting food waste reduction goals, and uncovering meaningful cost benefits through better purchasing and merchandising decisions.

In Turlock, California, Divert is already operating an Integrated Diversion & Energy Facility that is capable of processing 100,000 tons of unsold, non-donatable food products annually to reduce wasted food and promote circularity in the region.

In addition, Divert's parent company, Ara Divert HoldCo, recently expanded its board of directors to bolster Divert’s energy expertise and international support at a time of critical growth. Joining the board of directors are Zvi Orvitz, Managing Director, Sustainability and Energy Transition, at Wittington Investments, Limited, and Ali Naqvi, Chief Investment Officer at Ontario Power Generation.

“Divert’s growth underscores both the urgency of the escalating food waste issue and the team’s ambitions to drive real impact,” said Zvi Orvitz, Managing Director, Sustainability and Energy Transition at Wittington Investments, Limited. “We look forward to supporting Divert as they scale operations and expand the delivery of innovative food waste solutions across the U.S. and beyond."

"I'm honored to be able to help support and guide Divert on their mission to prevent food from being wasted by joining their Board of Directors," said Ali Naqvi, Chief Investment Officer at Ontario Power Generation and Divert board member. "Divert has already had a large impact on reducing wasted food in the U.S., and I'm looking forward to being part of their continued efforts to grow their solution to reduce wasted food across North America."

"This funding builds on previous rounds and demonstrates the confidence our investors have in our approach to address the wasted food crisis," said Brad Lukow, CFO, Divert. "As we continue our relationship with Wittington Investments, Limited and other global partners, we look forward to deploying capital to scale our business to meet the strong demand for wasted food solutions."

Divert is a portfolio company of Ara Partners, a global private equity firm that is decarbonizing the industrial economy. For more information on Divert, please visit www.divertinc.com.

About Divert

Divert is a circular economy company on a mission to prevent food from being wasted through nationwide infrastructure and innovative technologies. Founded in 2007, the company provides an end-to-end solution that leverages data to prevent waste, facilitates edible food recovery to provide to people in need, and transforms unsold food products into renewable energy to power communities and fertilizers to enrich local soils. Through this integrated approach to reducing wasted food–Prevent, Provide, Power^®–Divert works with customers across the U.S. to reduce wasted food and positively impact people and the environment. For more information on Divert, Inc., please visit www.divertinc.com.

About Ara Partners

Ara Partners is a global private equity and infrastructure investment firm focused on industrial decarbonization. Founded in 2017, Ara Partners seeks to build and scale companies with significant decarbonization impact across the industrial and manufacturing, chemicals and materials, energy efficiency and green fuels, and food and agriculture sectors. The company operates from offices in Houston, Boston, Washington D.C., and Dublin. Ara Partners closed its third private equity fund in December 2023 with over $2.8 billion in capital commitments. As of September 30, 2025, Ara Partners had approximately $6.6 billion of assets under management. For more information about Ara Partners, please visit www.arapartners.com.