Throne Labs is a technology company that provides a "

smart ''SMart'' was a British CBBC television programme based on art, which began in 1994 and ended in 2009. The programme was recorded at BBC Television Centre in London. Previously it had been recorded in Studio A at Pebble Mill Studios in Birmingha ...

toilet" distributed network of

portable toilets A portable or mobile toilet (colloquial terms: thunderbox, porta-john, porta-potty or porta-loo) is any type of toilet that can be moved around, some by one person, some by mechanical equipment such as a truck and crane. Most types do not require ...

in the United States.

History

The company was founded in June 2020 in Washington D.C. by Fletcher Wilson, who has experienced issues related to

irritable bowel syndrome Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder characterized by a group of symptoms that commonly include abdominal pain, abdominal bloating, and changes in the consistency of bowel movements. These symptoms may ...

throughout his life and wanted to create a scalable public restroom solution for cities in the United States. As of 2021, United States ranks 30th globally in public bathrooms per capita, tied with

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

with 8 public toilets per 100,000 citizens. Wilson now serves as the company's CEO. Throne Labs raised

angel funding An angel investor (also known as a business angel, informal investor, angel funder, private investor, or seed investor) is an individual who provides capital to a business or businesses, including startups, usually in exchange for convertible debt ...

from Sandalphon Capital, Dipalo Ventures, Uncorrelated Ventures, and

Ravin Gandhi Ravin Gandhi is an American businessman. Gandhi was an executive with Coatings and Chemicals Corporation before its sale to Akzo Nobel. He later founded Glenborn Partners, a private equity firm, and GMM Nonstick Coatings, where he remained its CE ...

Services

Throne Labs provides

solar-powered Solar power, also known as solar electricity, is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to conve ...

portable toilets that feature a running water sink, flushing toilet, and ventilation. The units use sensor technology to monitor use and optimize the cleaning schedules. Throne Lab units are free to use for consumers, who enter the units using a

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a smartphone, phone, tablet computer, tablet, or smartwatch, watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop appli ...

or QR code. As of 2025, the company operates units in Washington D.C.,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, Los Angeles,

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, and

Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

Public response

Derek Delacourt, who oversees city operations and services for Ann Arbor, Michigan told the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' that the city tested 10 Thrones in a year-long program that included 100,000 uses, and ended up signing a five-year contract. "The experience for people has been almost nothing but positive. You rarely get that in public service anymore. The ratings of these bathrooms have been through the roof." In Los Angeles, the region's Metro system has deployed 20 Throne bathrooms and has plans to add 44 more, in anticipation of the

2026 FIFA World Cup The 2026 FIFA World Cup, marketed as FIFA World Cup 26, will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's Association football, soccer championship contested by the List of men's n ...

and

2028 Summer Olympics The 2028 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 2028 or LA 28, is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place July 14–30, 2028, in the United States. Los Angeles ...

. One of the city's first deployments was at the Metro station in

MacArthur Park MacArthur Park (originally Westlake Park) is a park dating back to the late 19th century in the Westlake, Los Angeles, Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. In the early 1940s, it was renamed after General Douglas MacArthur, and la ...

, a densely populated area ravaged by the

opioid epidemic The opioid epidemic, also referred to as the opioid crisis, is the rapid increase in the overuse, misuse or abuse, and overdose deaths attributed either in part or in whole to the class of drugs called opiates or opioids since the 1990s. It inc ...

. Stephen Tu, head of Station experience for

Los Angeles Metro The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), branded as Metro, is the county agency that plans, operates, and coordinates funding for most of the Transportation in Los Angeles, public transportation system in Los Ang ...

, told the ''Wall Street Journal,'' "A sort of community-policing mechanism took hold around the bathroom, as the unhoused people who relied on it for a clean and dignified place to deal with life's necessities took pains to make sure no one messed it up. We knew that if it could withstand some of the greatest societal challenges at that location, we were confident that we could expand this to other stations." In Detroit,

Downtown Detroit Downtown Detroit is the central business district and a Neighborhoods in Detroit, residential area of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States. Locally, "downtown" tends to refer to the 1.4 square mile region bordered by M-10 (Michigan high ...

Partnership CEO Eric Larson said about the popularity of the units, "It's really kind of funny to be sitting here thinking about being excited about port-a-potties and toilets. But the reality is, this is an incredible opportunity to demonstrate urban innovation. The fact that if you have a public space, people ultimately need a place to relieve themselves. And what better way to do it in a facility that is respectful, safe, and clean, and quite frankly, very easy to operate." By June 2025, Throne public toilets in Washington, DC, had seen 63,000 users since they were installed, with Council member

Brianne Nadeau Brianne Nadeau (born October 11, 1980) is an American Democratic politician in Washington, D.C., and a member of the Council of the District of Columbia representing Ward 1 since 2015. She defeated long-time incumbent Jim Graham in the Democrati ...

saying, "People are begging us to expand." After a funding shortfall caused the temporary closure of 6 units, residents launched a

Change.org Change.org is a website which allows users to create and sign petitions in an attempt to advance various social causes by raising awareness and influencing decision-makers. The site is a US-based for-profit company and claims to have 551 million ...

petition, prompting DC Mayor

Muriel Bowser Muriel Elizabeth Bowser (born August 2, 1972) is an American politician who has served as the current mayor of the District of Columbia since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she previously represented th ...

to reverse the decision, saying "Fiscal Year 2025 funding for the Throne pilot program was frozen due to the congressional continuing resolution prohibiting the District from spending $1 billion of locally-raised revenues. We have identified funding to maintain the program."

References

External links

* {{official website, https://www.thronelabs.co/ 2020 establishments Sanitation Waste-related lists