Wirestock has raised $23 million in Series A funding to expand its data supply business for AI labs, shifting from its origins as a stock photography distributor.
Pivot to Data Supply
Founded to help photographers distribute work on platforms like Shutterstock, Wirestock pivoted in 2023 to provide datasets of images, videos, design assets, and gaming content to AI labs. Over 700,000 artists and designers now use the platform for data collection, a model similar to freelance platforms like Fiverr.
Co-founder and CEO Mikayel Khachatryan explained the strategic shift, noting transparency with artists who could opt out of participating in the data supply business. While Khachatryan did not disclose exact numbers, he mentioned that “the majority” of artists transitioned to providing data for AI.
New Opportunities for Creators
Khachatryan highlighted a shift from selling existing library content to fulfilling custom requests, which opened new opportunities for creators and accelerated platform growth. The transition required retraining teams to annotate and label data effectively for AI labs and developing sales and enterprise teams to engage with major technology companies.
Wirestock's funding round was led by Nava Ventures, with participation from SBVP, Formula VC, and I2BF Ventures. Freddie Martignetti of Nava Ventures emphasized Wirestock's innovative approach in data procurement and refinement, noting the importance of multimodal data in developing advanced AI systems.
Focus on Creative AI Models
Wirestock provides multimodal data to six major foundation model makers, though the company has not disclosed their identities. The startup focuses on data for creative AI applications, such as image and video generation, and is exploring audio and music modalities.
With an annual run-rate revenue of $40 million and $15 million paid out to contributors, Wirestock aims to further its reach through email marketing and referral programs. Prospective contributors must complete an unpaid quality check task before acceptance, with evaluations combining AI and human reviews.
Growing Demand and Future Plans
The demand for data supply services remains high, as seen with companies like Surge, Scale AI, and Mercor. Wirestock positions itself alongside emerging startups like Micro1 and Human Archive, targeting AI labs with a focus on creative use cases.
The company employs 60 people and plans to use the new funding to hire in research, engineering, and product roles, while also developing enterprise software for AI labs to collaborate on datasets. The latest funding brings Wirestock's total capital raised to approximately $26 million.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/14/wirestock-raises-23m-to-supply-multi-modal-data-to-ai-labs/
