XDOF, a robotics startup focused on gathering real-world teleoperation data to train general-purpose robots, is reportedly in advanced discussions to raise a Series B funding round at a valuation of approximately $1.2 billion. This move comes less than three months after the company emerged from stealth mode and completed a $70 million Series A round in June, which featured investments from Thrive Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Lux, and Spark Capital. The urgency for this new funding stems from XDOF’s striking growth, with annualized revenue nearing $50 million, prompting renewed interest from venture capitalists despite the recent Series A.

Founded in 2024 by UC Berkeley researchers Philipp Wu and Fred Shentu, XDOF aims to solve a significant bottleneck in robotics development: the scarcity of large-scale, high-quality data for training robots. Wu’s prior academic research uncovered the challenge of limited datasets in robotic learning, leading to the creation of GELLO, a teleoperation system that enables humans to remotely control robotic arms for data collection. This research foundation underpins XDOF’s mission to build robust data pipelines and annotation systems that can serve robotics labs and companies seeking to train machines with real-world experiences.

XDOF is uniquely positioning itself as a data infrastructure provider for physical robotics, similar to what companies like Scale AI and Mercor have done for AI and data labeling. By combining remote teleoperation with human operators equipped with body sensors, XDOF collects diverse data from everyday activities such as folding clothes and handling packages. The startup also collaborates with UC Berkeley’s AI Research lab to launch the ABC dataset, potentially the largest compilation of robot training data assembled to date. With a growing customer base of around 20, including multiple leading AI labs, XDOF is rapidly scaling its data collection efforts globally.

The startup faces competition from other entities focusing on real-world robot data collection, such as Mecka AI and human-data platforms like Scale AI and Micro1. Despite this, XDOF’s rapid traction and innovative approach have attracted significant investor interest, led by 8VC in the impending Series B. The precise amount of capital to be raised and the final terms of the deal remain undisclosed and subject to change, with XDOF and its investors declining to comment publicly at this stage.