Appen Buys Figure Eight for Up to $300M to Boost AI Data Annotation
Appen acquires Figure Eight in an all-cash deal worth up to $300 million to expand its AI training data capabilities. The move combines Appen's massive crowdsourced workforce with Figure Eight's self-serve annotation platform.
Appen acquires Figure Eight in an all-cash deal that pays $175 million upfront, with an additional $125 million possible based on performance this year. Both companies specialize in using crowdsourced labor to annotate data for training artificial intelligence and machine learning models. Figure Eight, formerly known as CrowdFlower, applies its technology to tasks ranging from mapping to receipt scanning.
Appen CEO Mark Brayan calls Figure Eight's data annotation and self-serve platform highly complementary to Appen's own network of over 1 million remote workers. He states that Appen needs a richer set of technologies to deliver higher data volumes, noting that Figure Eight leads the market among platform providers. Brayan adds that the entire Figure Eight team stays in place and that Appen plans to continue investing in the product.
This acquisition marks the next step in Appen's evolution following its 2017 purchase of Leapforce. San Francisco-based Figure Eight raises a total of $58 million from investors like Canvas Ventures and Salesforce Ventures. Co-founder Lukas Biewald expresses pride in the team and views the deal as a validation of their achievements in the AI space.