Wirestock Secures $23M to Empower AI Labs with Creative Multimodal Data

TL;DR
- Wirestock raised $23 million in Series A funding to scale its platform supplying multimodal creative data—like images, videos, 3D assets, and gaming content—to leading AI labs.
- The company boasts over 700,000 artists and designers contributing data, with an annual run-rate revenue of $40 million and $15 million already paid out to creators.
- Backed by Nava Ventures and others, Wirestock is hiring aggressively and developing enterprise tools for AI dataset collaboration.
Pivoting to AI Data Powerhouse
Wirestock, once a streamlined marketplace for creators to upload and sell stock content across platforms like Shutterstock and Getty Images, has undergone a dramatic transformation. Pivoting in 2023 to focus on data supply for AI development, the company now serves as a critical bridge between a global army of creators and the world's top foundation model labs. This shift has propelled Wirestock into the heart of the generative AI boom, where high-quality, diverse datasets are the lifeblood of advanced models.
The $23M Series A Breakdown
Announced on Thursday, Wirestock secured $23 million in Series A funding, bringing its total capital raised to approximately $26 million. The round was led by Nava Ventures, with participation from SBVP (co-founded by Sheryl Sandberg), Formula VC, and I2BF Ventures. This infusion comes after earlier seed rounds totaling around $2.3 million, primarily from investors like 2048 Ventures and Graph Ventures.
The funds will fuel expansion in research, engineering, and product teams, growing the current headcount of 60 employees. Wirestock is also investing in enterprise software that enables AI labs to collaborate seamlessly on datasets, addressing a key pain point in the industry's data-hungry ecosystem.
A Vast Network of 700,000+ Creators
At the core of Wirestock's value proposition is its platform, which has onboarded more than 700,000 artists, designers, photographers, videographers, illustrators, and even AI artists. These contributors operate like freelancers on platforms such as Fiverr, completing specialized tasks to generate multimodal data. This includes not just photos and videos, but also design assets, gaming content, and 3D models—essential for training sophisticated AI systems that understand and generate across formats.
The payoff for creators is real: Wirestock has already disbursed $15 million in earnings, underscoring its commitment to fair compensation in an era where AI training often exploits content without credit.
Fueling the AI Revolution
Wirestock currently supplies data to six of the largest foundation model makers—though specifics remain under wraps. With an impressive $40 million annual run-rate revenue, the company is carving out a niche in a competitive landscape dominated by giants like Getty Images, Shutterstock, Freepik, Depositphotos, and EyeEm.
Co-founder and CPO Ashot Mnatsakanyan emphasizes ethical data sourcing, ensuring creators are compensated while AI labs access ethically curated content. Headquartered in Kalkara, Malta, with a presence noted in places like Newark, DE, and San Jose, CA, Wirestock's global footprint positions it perfectly for the multimodal AI surge.
What's Next for Wirestock?
This funding round signals Wirestock's ambition to become the go-to data provider for the next wave of AI innovation. By streamlining data acquisition and fostering creator-AI lab partnerships, the platform could redefine how generative models are built—making them more diverse, ethical, and performant. As AI labs race to differentiate, Wirestock's creative multimodal arsenal might just be the edge they need.
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