micro1, a 3-year-old startup specializing in supporting AI laboratories in recruiting and managing human resources for data labeling, has just announced the completion of a $35 million Series A round, raising the company's valuation to $500 million.
The capital round is led by 01 Advisors, co-founded by Dick Costolo and Adam Bain, former CEO and COO of Twitter.
The company comes amid a major change in the AI training data market, as Scale AI (an American technology company specializing in providing labeling data and training data for AI models) faces cracks in its relationship with leading laboratories such as OpenAI and Google.
Meta's investment in Scale AI and hiring of new CEOs has led some AI companies to worry that their data could be affected, although Scale AI denied the information.
Ali Ansari, 24-year-old CEO of Micro1, told TechCrunch that the company is collaborating with large AI laboratories, including Microsoft, and many businesses on the Fortune 100 list.
We are currently generating $50 million in annual periodic revenue, up sharply from $7 million in early 2025, cited the CEO of Micro1.
Although this number is still behind big rivals like Mercor or Surge, the growth rate of Micro1 is making its mark on the market.
An important part of Micro1 is the AI recruitment tool Zara, which helps interview and check experts applying for the job.
Ansari said Zara has hired thousands of experts, from university and Harvard professors to software experts and doctors.
The biggest challenge at the moment is recruiting enough high-quality human resources to meet the increasingly diverse needs of AI laboratories, said Ansari.
Adam Bain, co-founder of 01 Advisors, commented: Micro1 plays a core role in providing human data to pioneering laboratories operating at unprecedented speeds.
Bain will also join the board of micro1 with Joshua Browder, founder of DoNotPay.
The AI data market is expanding, many laboratories are now collaborating with multiple suppliers rather than just one company. micro1 is developing additional virtual environments to train simulated AI agents to meet increasingly complex needs.
micro1 is not only a direct competitor to Scale AI, but also a testament to the wave of startups taking advantage of opportunities from the changes in the AI data market, opening up sustainable development prospects for the industry in the coming years.
