Krux
February 28, 2026
Encord Raises $60M as Physical AI Revenue Jumps 10x
Published: February 28, 2026 at 3:42 PM
Updated: February 28, 2026 at 3:42 PM
100-word summary
Encord just raised $60 million from Wellington Management to build data infrastructure for robots, drones, and self-driving cars. Physical AI revenue grew 10x in the past year, and the platform now stores over 5 petabytes of sensor and video data for 300 AI teams, including Toyota's autonomous division and drone maker Zipline. The bet: AI moving from screens into the real world needs a different kind of data layer than chatbots do. Companies training robots to navigate warehouses or drones to deliver blood can't just scrape the internet. Wellington is betting physical AI will create demand for specialized infrastructure that doesn't exist yet.
What happened
Encord just raised $60 million from Wellington Management to build data infrastructure for robots, drones, and self-driving cars. Physical AI revenue grew 10x in the past year, and the platform now stores over 5 petabytes of sensor and video data for 300 AI teams, including Toyota's autonomous division and drone maker Zipline. The bet: AI moving from screens into the real world needs a different kind of data layer than chatbots do. Companies training robots to navigate warehouses or drones to deliver blood can't just scrape the internet.
Why it matters
Wellington is betting physical AI will create demand for specialized infrastructure that doesn't exist yet.