Lithuania's Sort A Brick quadruples LEGO sorting speed, moves into direct sales
What's the deal? Lithuanian startup Sort A BrickDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has launched a second-generation AI-powered LEGODealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → sorting machine and begun selling certified refurbished sets directly to customers across Europe. The move shifts the company from a restoration service into a dual-revenue model.
What's the endgame? The new machine sorts up to 3,600 bricks an hour — four times the previous rate — which the company says lets it meet the quality and volume standards retail requires. Sort A Brick aims to make complete, checked used sets easier to buy than fragmented second-hand listings on platforms such as BrickLinkDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and eBayDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
Why now? The launch builds on a €2.35 million round reported in September that included Vinted co-founder Mantas MikuckasDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. “We decided to wait until our technology improved enough to deliver the quality and consistency we wanted,” said chief executive officer Ilya Malkin.
By the numbers: Sort A Brick reports that more than 75% of its initial online inventory sold in the first week. It also cites market projections putting the refurbished LEGO market at €4.7 billion by 2036 — a forecast, not established demand.
What could go wrong? The early sales figures are company-reported and do not establish repeat demand or profitability. Sort A Brick must also win consumer trust in refurbished goods and compete against established resellers while scaling supply across Europe.
The signal: The launch tests whether automation can make LEGO refurbishment commercially scalable, rather than proving a new market exists. It fits a wider pattern of European deep-tech companies moving from service provider to product retailer to capture more value — and of circular-economy startups betting that robotics can unlock labour-intensive consumer markets.
Read more: eustartups.news, Tech.eu
Image credit: InSapphoWeTrust
