AI資料標註公司Handshake收購曾是多家公司收購目標的Cleanlab

Topics

Latest

AI

Amazon

Apps

Biotech & Health

Climate

Cloud Computing

Commerce

Crypto

Enterprise

EVs

Fintech

Fundraising

Gadgets

Gaming

Google

Government & Policy

Hardware

Instagram

Layoffs

Media & Entertainment

Meta

Microsoft

Privacy

Robotics

Security

Social

Space

Startups

TikTok

Transportation

Venture

More from TechCrunch

Staff

Events

Startup Battlefield

StrictlyVC

Newsletters

Podcasts

Videos

Partner Content

TechCrunch Brand Studio

Crunchboard

Contact Us

AI data labeler Handshake buys Cleanlab, an acquisition target of multiple others

AI data labeling startup Handshake has acquired data label auditing startup Cleanlab, the companies tell TechCrunch.

Handshake began in 2013 as a platform for hiring college grads and launched a human data labeling business about a year ago to serve foundational AI model companies. Cleanlab, founded in 2021, is a startup that provides software for improving the quality of data produced by human labelers.

The deal’s purpose is primarily to acquire talent, aka an acqui-hire, adding nine key Cleanlab employees to Handshake’s research organization. This includes the startup’s co-founders, who earned their PhDs in computer science from MIT: Curtis Northcutt (pictured above), Jonas Mueller, and Anish Athalya. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed (though, as we previously reported, sometimes an acquihire can be surprisingly lucrative for founders.)

Cleanlab has raised a total of $30 million from investors including Menlo Ventures, TQ Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, and Databricks Ventures. At its peak, the startup had more than 30 employees.

Cleanlab’s researchers are experts in developing algorithms that flag incorrect data without a second human reviewer. The goal is to improve the quality of the data Handshake produces for AI labs.

“We have an in-house research team that thinks a lot about where our models are weak, what data should we be producing? How high quality is that data?” Sahil Bhaiwala, chief strategy and innovation officer at Handshake told TechCrunch. “The Cleanlabs team has been focusing on this problem for years.”

Northcutt, the Cleanlabs CEO who’s credited with pioneering its automating data labeling auditing, said the company received acquisition interest from other AI data labeling companies. But the startup chose to sell to Handshake because, he said, data labeling competitors including Mercor, Surge, and Scale AI frequently use Handshake’s platform to source human experts such as doctors, lawyers, and scientists, for their data labeling projects.

“If you’re going to pick one, you should probably pick the source, not the middleman,” Northcutt told TechCrunch.

Handshake, which was last valued at $3.3 billion in 2022, was forecasted to end 2025 at $300 million in annualized revenue run rate (ARR), and is reportedly on track to reach an ARR of “high hundreds of millions” this year. The company has provided data for eight top AI labs, including OpenAI.

Topics

Reporter, Venture

Marina Temkin is a venture capital and startups reporter at TechCrunch. Prior to joining TechCrunch, she wrote about VC for PitchBook and Venture Capital Journal. Earlier in her career, Marina was a financial analyst and earned a CFA charterholder designation.

You can contact or verify outreach from Marina by emailing [email protected] or via encrypted message at +1 347-683-3909 on Signal.

Tickets are live at the lowest rates of the year. Save up to $680 on your pass — and if you’re among the first 500 registrants, score a +1 pass at 50% off.Meet investors. Discover your next portfolio company. Hear from 250+ tech leaders, dive into 200+ sessions, and explore 300+ startups building what’s next. Don’t miss these one-time savings.