What is the difference between Encord and Scale AI?

Encord sells data annotation, expert data collection, and evaluation services, plus a data platform, to AI teams building physical and multimodal AI. Scale AI provides training data, RL environments, and model evaluations to AI labs, governments, and enterprises. Both sell labeling software, annotation, expert and human data, datasets and evaluations and benchmarks. Only Scale AI sells RL environments and simulation.

Which raised more money, Encord or Scale AI?

Encord: $90M disclosed. Scale AI: $15.3B disclosed, valued at $29B (2025).

Do Encord and Scale AI buy data from companies?

Encord does not say it buys data from companies. Scale AI takes data from the companies that hold it, through a published programme.

Updated 8 Nov 2026

Encord vs Scale AI, by the numbers.

Scale AI ranks higher by the money on record: its revenue is on record, $870M (FY2024), and Encord's is not, so Encord is ranked on $90M raised.

Both sell labeling software, annotation, expert and human data, datasets and evaluations and benchmarks. Only Scale AI sells RL environments and simulation. Every figure below is linked to the filing or article it comes from; what each sells is in its own words, from its own pages.

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Side by side

Revenue over twelve months, the newest valuation, disclosed funding and what each says it does.

Encord and Scale AI compared on revenue, valuation, funding and what each sells
	Encord	Scale AI
	Encord	Scale AI
Place on the rankings	#26 of 78	#5 of 78
Ranked on	$90M Money raised, disclosed	$870M Revenue, FY2024
Revenue, twelve months	Not on record	$870M FY2024 over time
Newest valuation	Not on record	$29B Jun 2025
Disclosed funding	$90M in 2 records	$15.3B in 2 records
Sells	Labeling software, Annotation, Expert and human data, Datasets, Evaluations and benchmarks	Labeling software, RL environments, Datasets, Expert and human data, Evaluations and benchmarks, Annotation, Simulation
Works on	Images and video, Robotics, Medical, Business work, Finance, Speech and audio	Coding, Computer use, Business work, Robotics, Medical
Made from	Made by experts and contractors, Recorded from people and the real world, Generated	Made by experts and contractors, Replicas of real software
Takes data from companies	Does not say so	Through our introductions
Headquarters	London, UK and San Francisco, California, US (dual headquarters)	San Francisco, California, US
Founded	2021	2016
In its own words	“Access expert annotators, domain specialists, and managed collection pipelines - fully integrated with the Encord platform.” Its page	“Scale delivers proven data, evaluations, and outcomes to AI labs, governments, and the Fortune 500.” Its page

The rule.: Each company is ranked on the first of these it has on record: its revenue over twelve months (a run rate or a year as published, or its last four quarters added up; an AI segment where the rest of its business is not AI data), then its newest valuation, then the money it disclosed raising. No company pays for a place. The full method and every change to it.
Twelve months.: A run rate or ARR is the company's own annualised figure; a year is the year it published. Gross revenue of a human data company includes what it pays its experts.
Pays companies for data.: "Through our introductions": it takes companies' data through AIData.Broker's introductions and pays us a referral fee when one goes ahead. That never moves its place: the order is the money on record. "Its own programme": a published programme for buying data. "Says it buys data": its own words, linked.
Why this pair.: People search for this comparison: Google suggests it, read on 8 Nov 2026. Neither company asked for or paid for this page.

Selling your company's data to Encord or Scale AI

What each says it pays a company for its data, what it wants and when it pays, in its own published terms.

What Encord and Scale AI publish about buying a company's data
	Encord	Scale AI
Takes data from companies	Does not say so	Through our introductions
What it says it pays	Not published	$10K to $1M Scale AI, data partnership page, 7 Nov 2026
What it wants	Not published	Structured, de-identified records from data warehouses, chat, email, documents, work tools and business platforms.
When it pays	Not published	Not published. A scoping call first; a partnership can begin with a very limited scope.

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On the same rankings

The lists both are ranked on, with each one's place.

Best data labeling platformsEncord #4, Scale AI #1 of 14
Robotics training data companiesEncord #11, Scale AI #1 of 31
Best data labeling companiesEncord #13, Scale AI #2 of 40
Medical AI training data companiesEncord #15, Scale AI #4 of 26
Best AI data labs and human data companiesEncord #20, Scale AI #5 of 41
Best AI training data providersEncord #23, Scale AI #4 of 53
AI evaluation companiesEncord #24, Scale AI #5 of 60

The latest money moves

The newest rounds, valuations and revenue figures of the two, each linked to its record.

26 Feb 2026Encord raised $60M
12 Jun 2025Scale AI raised $14.3B at a $29B valuation
8 Jun 2025Scale AI reported $870M revenue (FY2024)
13 Aug 2024Encord raised $30M
21 May 2024Scale AI raised $1B at a $13.8B valuation

The questions people ask

Is Encord bigger than Scale AI?: Scale AI ranks higher by the money on record: its revenue is on record, $870M (FY2024), and Encord's is not, so Encord is ranked on $90M raised.
What is the difference between Encord and Scale AI?: Encord sells data annotation, expert data collection, and evaluation services, plus a data platform, to AI teams building physical and multimodal AI. Scale AI provides training data, RL environments, and model evaluations to AI labs, governments, and enterprises. Both sell labeling software, annotation, expert and human data, datasets and evaluations and benchmarks. Only Scale AI sells RL environments and simulation.
Which raised more money, Encord or Scale AI?: Encord: $90M disclosed. Scale AI: $15.3B disclosed, valued at $29B (2025).
Do Encord and Scale AI buy data from companies?: Encord does not say it buys data from companies. Scale AI takes data from the companies that hold it, through a published programme.

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