XDOF just three months out of stealth seeks $1.2B Series B
XDOF, just three months out of stealth, is in late-stage talks for a Series B at about a $1.2 billion valuation led by 8VC, people familiar with the deal told TechCrunch. The robot-data startup’s rapid growth, with annualized revenue near $50 million, drew fresh VC interest sooner than expected.
Key Takeaways
- XDOF is in late-stage Series B talks at roughly a $1.2 billion valuation, with 8VC leading, according to people close to the deal.
- The raise comes less than three months after the robot data startup exited stealth and closed a $70 million Series A in June.
- Annualized revenue is approaching $50 million, prompting VCs to approach the company about a new round.
- XDOF supplies teleoperation and sensor-collected training data for general-purpose robots, working with about 20 customers including frontier AI labs.
- Deal terms are not final; TechCrunch could not confirm the raise size or whether the valuation is pre- or post-money.
What is happening with XDOF’s funding round?
According to TechCrunch, XDOF is in late-stage talks for a Series B at a valuation of about $1.2 billion. Multiple people with knowledge of the deal said 8VC is leading. XDOF and 8VC did not respond to requests for comment.
The company was not planning to raise again so soon after its Series A. Investor interest followed its rapid growth, those people said. Terms could still change.
Why does robot training data matter so much?
XDOF collects real-world teleoperation data to train general-purpose robots. It builds data pipelines, collection tools, and annotation systems that frontier AI labs and robotics firms struggle to build in-house—an outsourced data-supply chain for physical AI.
Unlike large language models that trained on internet text, robots lack a ready real-world dataset. That bottleneck has made data collection a hot bet for investors comparing XDOF to Scale AI or Mercor for physical robotics. Follow related stories in Future Tech & AI Wonders.
How did XDOF get here so quickly?
Co-founded in 2024 by UC Berkeley researchers Philipp Wu (CEO) and Fred Shentu (CTO), XDOF grew out of GELLO, a low-cost teleoperation system for generating robot training data. TechCrunch covered its $70 million Series A in June, with participation from Thrive Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Lux, and Spark Capital.
To capture data, XDOF combines remote robot teleoperation with human collectors wearing sensors for everyday tasks such as folding clothes. It plans to hire and train collectors worldwide and is partnering with UC Berkeley’s AI Research lab on ABC, which it calls a large high-quality robot training dataset. The startup has said it already works with 20 customers, including several frontier AI labs.