Encord

Gig app, HQ United Kingdom. Annotation tooling firm turned physical-AI data collector; runs leader-follower teleop rigs with 'pilots' in a San Leandro warehouse and is trialling brain-wave headsets for robot training data.

Data it collects

Workers in

United States

Known buyers

Scale

• Draws egocentric data from several factories around the globe and runs a teleop and new-modality facility in San Leandro, California (2026-07-26)

Pay

• Up to $150/hour for videos of highly technical tasks (co-founder claim)

Sources

• Encord does both, drawing egocentric data from several factories around the globe, and using its San Leandro facility to experiment with new modalitiestechcrunch.com ↗ Major outlet 2026-07-26
• pilots were using leader-follower rigs — paired robotic arms, one controlled directly by a human operator and one that mimics its movementstechcrunch.com ↗ Major outlet 2026-07-26
• Velmurugan says they work with many leading robotics firms but that he's not authorized to name them.techcrunch.com ↗ Major outlet 2026-07-26
• Data companies like Scale AI and Encord are recruiting their own armies of data recorders, while DoorDash pays delivery drivers to film themselves doing chores.technologyreview.com ↗ Major outlet 2026-04-01
• rates can reach up to $150 an hour for videos of highly technical tasksbusinessinsider.com ↗ Major outlet 2025-10
• Encord cited both as customers; Scale AI says Physical Intelligence is a customer, too.businessinsider.com ↗ Major outlet 2025-10

Every row links to its source, and hovering a link shows the quote it rests on. Research compiled 2026-10-05. Method