Labelbox, a data factory used by AI labs and enterprises, has acquired Upcraft, an AI-powered sales automation startup, to accelerate how Labelbox recruits and engages domain experts for frontier AI development.

The deal brings Upcraft’s AI agent technology into Labelbox’s infrastructure to automate workflows tied to outreach, qualification, and engagement. Labelbox said the integration will be applied within Alignerr, its network of more than 1 million domain experts who evaluate, train, and improve advanced AI models by providing expert-driven feedback and training data.

Upcraft, founded in 2021, built AI agents designed to automate complex sales workflows. Labelbox said that expertise will now be used to improve how Alignerr interacts with experts who generate training data for AI models, with the goal of increasing the speed and quality of expert-sourced data delivery at scale.

Labelbox positioned the acquisition as part of intensifying competition among AI companies to secure differentiated, expert-generated training data, as model development increasingly depends on post-training and reinforcement learning workflows. By automating expert recruitment and engagement, Labelbox is aiming to strengthen its ability to supply high-quality, expert-driven data as AI labs invest heavily in training and refinement pipelines.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Labelbox is headquartered in San Francisco and says it is trusted by a large share of leading AI labs in the U.S., providing software, managed services, and an expert network for training data creation. Upcraft is headquartered in Chicago and focuses on AI powered sales agents that help sales teams scale personalized communication while reducing operational overhead.

KEY QUOTES

“After nearly five years building Upcraft, we’re thrilled to bring our AI sales agent expertise to Labelbox. Labelbox’s vision of helping the world’s largest AI labs and hyperscalers advance superintelligence is inspiring. This acquisition lets us contribute to a platform with unmatched resources and reach, accelerating our mission to make AI more accessible and effective. Leading growth for Alignerr’s expert ecosystem is particularly exciting. By applying the latest AI agent technology to engage experts more effectively, we can generate higher-quality data that improves the world’s most capable AI models and unlocks their full potential. I’m deeply grateful to our investors, partners, and team for their support, and I’m excited for what lies ahead.”

Greg Caplan, Co-founder And Chief Executive Officer, Upcraft

“Building frontier AI requires connecting elite domain experts with development teams at scale. Upcraft’s AI agent expertise will transform how we grow and operate the Alignerr network, enabling us to deliver the high-quality, expert-driven training data that defines the cutting edge of AI. We’re excited to welcome Greg and the team.”

Manu Sharma, Chief Executive Officer, Labelbox