Mecka AI is nearing a new funding round led by Sequoia Capital. The deal would value the startup at roughly $500 million, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
The exact size of the round has not been made public. The terms are not final and could still change before closing.
This new deal comes just three months after Mecka AI raised $60 million in a round led by Framework Ventures. That earlier round also included Menlo Ventures, SV Angel, and Kindred Ventures.
Mecka AI did not respond to a request for comment. Sequoia declined to comment on the deal.
How Mecka AI Collects Data
Mecka AI collects human motion data. This data is used to train humanoid robots and other robotics systems.
The company pays people to record themselves doing everyday tasks. This includes things like making coffee or fixing a car.
Workers use body sensors and smartphones to capture their movements. This method is known as an egocentric approach to data collection.
Mecka AI was co-founded in 2024 by four entrepreneurs. They are Josh Gao, Mogen Cheng, Jason Chong, and Duy Nguyen.
None of the founders have a background in robotics. Gao and Cheng previously built a restaurant fintech startup together.
Chong joined Coinbase after it acquired his crypto exchange. Nguyen is the only non-Canadian founder and focuses on operations at the company.
Growth And Competition In Robot Training Data
As of early June, Mecka AI was projecting it would end 2026 with a $100 million annual run rate. That figure was shared with Fortune around the time of its last fundraise.
The company has not publicly listed its customers. Many robotics firms and AI labs rely on this kind of real world data, along with other collection methods like teleoperation.
Mecka AI is often compared to companies like Scale AI, Mercor, and Surge. Those firms built similar human data businesses for language models rather than robots.
Other startups are also raising money in this space. XDOF was reported last week to be nearing a new round at a $1.2 billion valuation, just three months after leaving stealth.
Scale AI and Micro1 are also expanding their human data work beyond language models. Micro1 recently raised funds at a $500 million valuation.
