Updated 8 Nov 2026
Innodata vs Appen, by the numbers.
By revenue, Innodata is the larger: $350M (12 months to Sep 2026), against Appen's $249M (12 months to Jun 2026).
Both sell labeling software, RL environments, datasets, expert and human data, evaluations and benchmarks and annotation. 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.
| Innodata | Appen | |
|---|---|---|
| Innodata | Appen | |
| Place on the rankings | #8 of 78 | #11 of 78 |
| Ranked on | $350M Revenue, 12 months to Sep 2026 | $249M Revenue, 12 months to Jun 2026 |
| Revenue, twelve months | $350M 12 months to Sep 2026 over time | $249M 12 months to Jun 2026 over time |
| Newest valuation | Not on record | Not on record |
| Disclosed funding | Not on record | Not on record |
| Sells | Labeling software, RL environments, Datasets, Expert and human data, Evaluations and benchmarks, Annotation | Labeling software, Datasets, Expert and human data, RL environments, Evaluations and benchmarks, Annotation |
| Works on | Coding, Business work, Medical, Robotics, Images and video, Speech and audio, Languages | Coding, Business work, Finance, Legal, Medical, Science, Robotics, Speech and audio, Images and video, Languages |
| Made from | Made by experts and contractors, Recorded from people and the real world | Recorded from people and the real world, Made by experts and contractors, Licensed from its owners, Generated |
| Takes data from companies | Does not say so | Its own programme |
| Headquarters | Ridgefield Park, NJ | Kirkland, Washington, US and Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (dual headquarters) |
| Founded | 1988 | 1996 |
| In its own words | “Seven of the world’s largest tech companies trust Innodata for fine-tuning and red teaming.” Its page | “We deliver the expert-validated data that trains frontier models, ensuring AI systems understand nuance, context, and complexity at scale.” 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 Innodata or Appen
What each says it pays a company for its data, what it wants and when it pays, in its own published terms.
| Innodata | Appen | |
|---|---|---|
| Takes data from companies | Does not say so | Its own programme |
| What it says it pays | Not published | Not published |
| What it wants | Not published | Operational documentation (procedures, wikis, QA), decision and escalation records (support desk, ITSM, CRM, project tracking, messaging) and systems of record (ERP, warehouse, contracts, HR, procurement). |
| When it pays | Not published | "Payment is on acceptance rather than submission." |
You need not choose one: AIData.Broker values a company's data free and introduces it to every buyer whose own rules take it. Value your data
On the same rankings
The lists both are ranked on, with each one's place.
- Best AI data collection companiesInnodata #1, Appen #3 of 30
- Best data labeling platformsInnodata #2, Appen #3 of 14
- Robotics training data companiesInnodata #2, Appen #4 of 31
- Multilingual training data providersInnodata #3, Appen #4 of 17
- Speech and audio training data companiesInnodata #3, Appen #4 of 20
- Video and image training data companiesInnodata #3, Appen #6 of 37
- Best data labeling companiesInnodata #5, Appen #7 of 40
- Medical AI training data companiesInnodata #6, Appen #9 of 26
- RL environment companiesInnodata #7, Appen #9 of 36
- Best AI training data providersInnodata #7, Appen #10 of 53
- Coding data companies for AIInnodata #8, Appen #10 of 33
- Best AI data labs and human data companiesInnodata #8, Appen #11 of 41
- AI evaluation companiesInnodata #8, Appen #10 of 60
The latest money moves
The newest rounds, valuations and revenue figures of the two, each linked to its record.
- 5 Nov 2026Innodata reported $350M revenue (12 months to Sep 2026)
- 27 Aug 2026Appen reported $249M revenue (12 months to Jun 2026)
- 12 Mar 2024Appen was acquired by Innodata
The questions people ask
- Is Innodata bigger than Appen?
- By revenue, Innodata is the larger: $350M (12 months to Sep 2026), against Appen's $249M (12 months to Jun 2026).
- What is the difference between Innodata and Appen?
- Innodata sells AI training datasets, data annotation, model evaluations and RL environments to companies building AI models. Appen provides AI training data, data annotation and model evaluation to AI labs and other AI teams. Both sell labeling software, RL environments, datasets, expert and human data, evaluations and benchmarks and annotation.
- Which raised more money, Innodata or Appen?
- Innodata: no disclosed round on record. Appen: no disclosed round on record.
- Do Innodata and Appen buy data from companies?
- Innodata does not say it buys data from companies. Appen takes data from the companies that hold it, through a published programme.
More comparisons
Each company against its whole field, and the other comparisons people search.