Roboti data startup Encord raises $60M information

Roboti data startup Encord raises $60M information

Encord Secures $60 Million in Series C Funding to Advance Physical AI Data Infrastructure

Encord, a startup specializing in data infrastructure for physical artificial intelligence (AI) systems, has raised $60 million in a Series C funding round led by Wellington Management, with participation from new investors Bright Pixel and Isomer Capital. Existing backers, including Y Combinator and CRV, also contributed, bringing the company's total funding to $110 million.

The startup, formally known as Cord Technologies Inc., develops a platform designed to streamline the preparation of training data for AI models used in autonomous vehicles, robots, and drones. Its software addresses key stages in AI development, including data management, curation, model evaluation, and annotation, consolidating these tasks into a single automated platform. This approach aims to improve model transparency and performance by enabling developers to trace and refine training outputs.

The funding comes as the physical AI industry approaches a critical growth phase, with global deployment of autonomous systems accelerating. Encord estimates that over 400 million intelligent robots could be operational within four years, driving the sector's annual value toward $30 billion. The company highlights the complexity of processing multimodal data streams—such as audio, video, and 3D point clouds—generated by these systems, which legacy infrastructure is ill-equipped to handle.

Encord's platform has seen significant growth since its last funding round 18 months ago. Data volume on its system has expanded from 1 petabyte to over 5 petabytes, surpassing the dataset size used to train OpenAI's GPT-4. Revenue has also increased more than tenfold during this period.

Clients include Toyota's mobility subsidiary Woven, as well as drone developers Zipline and Skydio. The company plans to use the new capital to expand into new markets and enhance its platform.

With physical AI adoption rising, Encord's focus on data readiness aligns with growing industry recognition that model performance is heavily dependent on high-quality, real-world training data.