AI funding shakeup: Listen Labs walks from signed $125M Series C amid ~$2B Salesforce talks as Mecka AI nears $500M Sequoia-led round

Voice AI market-research startup Listen Labs abandoned a signed $125M Series C term sheet at a $1.5B valuation (led by Menlo Ventures) while in acquisition talks with Salesforce at roughly $2B, and robot-training-data startup Mecka AI is nearing a Sequoia…

Two separate AI startup funding stories emerged on consecutive days (TechCrunch, 2026-09-10 and 2026-09-11). Listen Labs, a three-year-old voice AI market-research startup with about $30M in annualized revenue, signed a term sheet for a $125M Series C led by Menlo Ventures at a $1.5B valuation but walked away before closing — a rare move. Per the report, the financing likely collapsed due to acquisition talks with Salesforce at around $2 billion, though no deal is finalized. The sector benchmark was recently reset by competitor Simile, which closed a $200M Series B at a $2B valuation; Listen Labs says its revenue is about 3x Simile's, per sources. Separately, Mecka AI, founded in 2024, which pays people to record everyday tasks with body sensors and smartphones to produce egocentric training data for humanoid robots, is nearing a new round led by Sequoia Capital at roughly a $500M valuation (terms not final). That follows a $60M raise three months earlier led by Framework Ventures with participation from Menlo Ventures — the same firm that led Listen Labs' abandoned Series C — plus SV Angel and Kindred Ventures. Co-founder Josh Gao said Mecka projects a $100M annual run rate by the end of 2026. Both stories underscore intense investor demand across AI data and research startups, with no disagreement between the reports on any specific figures.

• Listen Labs signed a $125M Series C term sheet led by Menlo Ventures at a $1.5B valuation but abandoned it before closing (reported 2026-09-10).
• Salesforce has discussed acquiring Listen Labs for roughly $2 billion; talks are not finalized, and the report says the financing likely collapsed due to those talks.
• Listen Labs reports about $30M in annualized revenue, roughly 3x rival Simile's, per sources.
• Competitor Simile recently closed a $200M Series B at a $2B valuation, resetting sector benchmarks.
• Listen Labs' customers include Microsoft, Canva, Anthropic, and Sweetgreen; competitors include Simile, Outset, Keplar, and Aaru.
• Mecka AI (founded 2024 by Josh Gao, Mogen Cheng, Jason Chong, and Duy Nguyen) is nearing a Sequoia Capital-led round at roughly a $500M valuation; terms are not final (reported 2026-09-11).
• Mecka AI raised $60M three months earlier, led by Framework Ventures with participation from Menlo Ventures, SV Angel, and Kindred Ventures.
• Mecka captures real-world human motion via body sensors and smartphones to train humanoid robots; co-founder Josh Gao cited a projected $100M annual run rate by end of 2026.