Mecka AI Raises $60 Million for Human Motion Data Used to Train Robots

Mecka AI, a New York City startup, has raised $60 million to collect and sell data on human motion for training robots. The company closed a $25 million Series A round in November and secured an additional $35 million in a follow-on round, both led by Framework Ventures. Menlo Ventures, SV Angel, Kindred Ventures, and angel investor Ted Xiao also participated in the rounds.

Josh Gao, Mecka AI’s cofounder and CEO, said the firm collects data through body sensors and iPhones rather than through teleoperation. The company’s hypothesis is that robots can learn more effectively from recordings of human movement than from humans manually guiding robotic arms.

Gao spoke to Fortune from Shenzhen, China, where he was visiting a factory producing custom equipment designed to capture that data.

Gao and his three cofounders—Mogen Cheng, Jason Chong, and Duy Nguyen—previously worked in fintech and consumer businesses. In 2023, Gao and Cheng sold a payments startup focused on restaurants. Chong sold his company to Coinbase, and Nguyen made millions flipping sneakers.

The four founders, who knew each other through mutual friends, spent months reviewing research papers and contacting roboticists before launching Mecka AI in 2025 after amassing thousands of gigabytes of human movement data. The startup now has 40 employees and projects an annual run rate of $100 million based on already-signed contracts, though Gao declined to name customers.

“Useful robots can be deployed today and immediately,” he said.

Mecka AI is one of several AI and robotics-related financings reported this week. Fonoa, a Dublin-based AI tax platform, raised $110 million in Series C funding led by Headline. Inherent, a London AI lab, raised $50 million in seed funding led by Index Ventures and Radical Ventures.

Picogrid, an El Segundo defense tech firm, raised $45 million in Series A funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners. Pax, a São Paulo public-safety AI company, raised $40 million in seed funding led by Greenoaks and Benchmark. 2 million led by Silicon Road Ventures; Iconic, a Los Angeles M&A advisory firm, raising $6 million from Expa and others; and Volt Harbor, an Ann Arbor energy-storage developer, raising $2 million led by MFV Partners.

In exits, CoStar Group agreed to acquire Zonda, a Newport Beach data and software platform for the homebuilding sector, from MidOcean Partners for $800 million in cash. Tractor Supply Company acquired the veterinary services business of PetIQ, an Eagle, Idaho pet-health company, from Bansk Group; financial terms were not disclosed.