Hard Fork AI The Rise of Datumo: Disrupting Scale AI’s Stronghold
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Aug 17, 2025 A new startup, Datumo, is emerging as a challenger to Scale AI, having raised $15.5 million. Their unique strategy emphasizes efficiency, transparency, and a crowdsourced app for data labeling. The discussion dives into potential impacts on AI model training and what this shift could mean for the industry. Exciting possibilities for expansion and innovation in the AI landscape are on the horizon!
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Labeling To Model Evaluation Pivot
- Daidumo expanded from annotation into model evaluation and safety benchmarking as customers requested output scoring and comparisons across models.
- This vertical move leverages their labeling roots to deliver enterprise-focused model monitoring and evaluation tools.
Crowdsourced Labeling Launched Growth
- Daidumo began as a data-labeling startup using a reward-based crowdsourcing app to pay people to label data in their spare time.
- The founders secured pre-contract sales and passed $1M revenue in year one, proving product-market fit.
Meta-Scale Deal Opened Market Opportunity
- After Meta's big investment in Scale AI, customers worried about competitor entanglements and looked for alternatives, creating openings for challengers like Daidumo.
- Daidumo targets enterprise safety, transparency, and global expansion to capture customers fleeing concentrated vendor risk.