Mecka AI nears $500M valuation in Sequoia-led deal amid rush for robot training data
News Source
β’Fri, 11 Sep 2026 22:58:17 +0000
π° What Happened
Mecka AI is a startup that collects human movement data to train robots. It is close to a new funding round led by Sequoia Capital, which would value the company at about $500 million. Two people who know about the deal told TechCrunch.
The round comes just three months after Mecka raised $60 million. The exact size of the new round is not known, and the terms could still change. Neither Mecka nor Sequoia would comment.
Mecka pays people to record themselves doing everyday tasks, like making coffee or fixing cars. It uses body sensors and smartphones to capture the movement.
π The Backstory
Mecka was started in 2024 by four entrepreneurs. None of them came from robotics. Josh Gao and Mogen Cheng once built a restaurant payments startup. Jason Chong joined Coinbase after it bought his crypto exchange.
They noticed that robots lack real-world data. That missing data is one of the biggest things holding back useful humanoid robots. Mecka wants to do for robots what Scale AI and similar firms did for language models.
The company name comes from "mecha," a giant robot from Japanese fiction that people control.
π― Why It Matters
Humanoid robots could one day help in homes, warehouses, and hospitals. The data these workers record now shapes how well those robots move. It also creates a new kind of paid online work.
Mecka AI is a startup that collects human movement data to train robots. It is close to a new funding round led by Sequoia Capital, which would value the company at about $500 million. Two people who know about the deal told TechCrunch.
The round comes just three months after Mecka raised $60 million. The exact size of the new round is not known, and the terms could still change. Neither Mecka nor Sequoia would comment.
Mecka pays people to record themselves doing everyday tasks, like making coffee or fixing cars. It uses body sensors and smartphones to capture the movement.
Mecka was started in 2024 by four entrepreneurs. None of them came from robotics. Josh Gao and Mogen Cheng once built a restaurant payments startup. Jason Chong joined Coinbase after it bought his crypto exchange.
They noticed that robots lack real-world data. That missing data is one of the biggest things holding back useful humanoid robots. Mecka wants to do for robots what Scale AI and similar firms did for language models.
The company name comes from "mecha," a giant robot from Japanese fiction that people control.
Humanoid robots could one day help in homes, warehouses, and hospitals. The data these workers record now shapes how well those robots move. It also creates a new kind of paid online work.