XDOF startup in talks for Series B at valuation of about $1.2 billion — TechCrunch
XDOF, a startup that collects robot teleoperation data to train general-purpose robotic systems, is in late-stage talks on Series B financing. The company could be valued at about $1.2 billion, and the round could be led by venture firm 8VC, according to people familiar with the negotiations, TechCrunch reports.
The final terms of the deal have not yet been agreed and may change. The publication was unable to establish the total size of the new funding or determine whether the stated valuation includes the funds from the upcoming round. XDOF and 8VC did not respond to TechCrunch's request for comment.
Previous round and growth
XDOF was founded in 2024 by University of California, Berkeley researchers Phillip Wu, the company's CEO, and CTO Fred Shentu. In June, TechCrunch reported that the startup had raised $70 million in a Series A round involving Thrive Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Lux and Spark Capital.
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According to the publication's sources, XDOF had not planned a new round so soon after its Series A. At the same time, venture investors began approaching the company because of its rapid growth: its annualized revenue is approaching $50 million.
Data collection for robots
XDOF creates data supply pipelines, data collection tools and annotation systems for leading artificial intelligence laboratories and robotics companies. The company combines remote robot operation with the work of people who wear sensors to record movements during everyday tasks, including folding clothes and opening boxes.
Wu and Shentu also worked on GELLO, a low-cost teleoperation system that allows a person to remotely control a robotic arm to create training data. XDOF is working with the University of California, Berkeley AI Research lab to release the ABC robot training dataset, which the company considers the largest collection of high-quality data of this type. The startup previously said it already works with 20 clients, including several leading artificial intelligence laboratories.
