Mecka AI nears $500M valuation in Sequoia-led deal amid rush for robot training data
Mecka AI, which collects human motion data for robot training, is nearing a Sequoia-led round at about a $500 million valuation.
Mecka AI is nearing a new funding round led by Sequoia Capital at a valuation of roughly $500 million, three months after raising $60 million led by Framework Ventures with participation from Menlo Ventures, SV Angel, and Kindred Ventures. Founded in 2024 by Josh Gao, Mogen Cheng, Jason Chong, and Duy Nguyen, the startup pays people to record everyday tasks using body sensors and smartphones to produce egocentric training data for humanoid robots. The company projected a $100 million annual run rate by the end of 2026 and competes with firms like Scale AI, Mercor, Surge, Micro1, and XDOF in the physical-world data market.
- Sequoia Capital leads a new round valuing Mecka AI at roughly $500 million; terms are not final.
- The round follows a $60 million raise three months earlier led by Framework Ventures.
- Mecka captures real-world human motion via body sensors and smartphones to train humanoid robots.
- Co-founder Josh Gao said the startup projected a $100 million annual run rate for 2026.
- Rivals like XDOF are also raising at high valuations amid demand for robot training data.
From the original article
2 min read at techcrunch.com
The round for the two-year-old startup is coming together months after Mecka announced its Series A.
By Marina Temkin · techcrunch.com
A short excerpt; the article and its images belong to the publisher. Summary, key facts and assessment above are AI-written from the article and can be wrong.