MicroAGI (Shift)
Category: Robotics / Embodied AI
German embodied AI research lab collecting real-world human task data through its Shift app to train household robots, offering free home cleaning in NYC in exchange for first-person video recordings. MicroAGI (Shift) was founded in 2025. The company is led by Bercan Kilic. Based in Munich/Berlin, Germany. Team size: 11-50. Total funding raised: $63M. Latest round: Series A. Key investors include Hummingbird Ventures, Earthling VC, Redalpine, LocalGlobe, Village Global.
- Founded
- 2025
- Headquarters
- Munich/Berlin, Germany
- Team size
- 11-50
- Total funding
- $63M
Value proposition
Accelerating embodied AGI by collecting high-quality first-person video data of real-world household tasks to train AI-driven robots, using a gig-economy model where people get paid (or free services) to record their daily chores.
Products and solutions
Shift app (consumer-facing brand) — free home cleaning service in NYC with head-mounted camera recording, paid data collection platform across 15 countries where operators record everyday household and professional tasks for $20/hr + bonuses.
Unique value
First-person video data of real-world household tasks at scale — cleaners wear head-mounted cameras capturing natural human motion in messy, real environments, which is far more valuable for robot training than staged or synthetic data.
Target customer
AI labs and robotics companies needing real-world training data for embodied AI; also gig workers (operators) who record tasks; consumers who get free cleaning services.
Industries served
Robotics training data, Embodied AI, Household robotics, Physical AI data infrastructure
Technology advantage
Internal technology processes data to significantly higher quality, commanding premium pricing when sold to AI labs; advanced ML models on smart glasses perform irreversible anonymization (face blurring, identifier obfuscation) before cloud upload; operates across 15 countries for geographic diversity of training data.
How they differentiate
Focus on embodied AI / physical world data (not just LLM training data); first-person video from head-mounted cameras captures natural human motion; free cleaning service as viral marketing and data collection funnel; founded by ex-F1 engineers bringing precision engineering mindset.
Main competitors
Scale AI, Micro1, Encord
Key partnerships
ESRA (European Space Robotics Association) partnership announced, partners with professional cleaning service providers for NYC operations.
Major milestones
Founded ~Sept 2025 in Munich hacker house, Pre-Seed round Nov 2025, Series A ~May 2026, Shift app launched May 28, 2026 with free NYC home cleaning, Global Robotics Research HQ opened at Bahnhofstrasse 63, Zurich.
Growth metrics
14,000+ operators across 15 countries; $5M+ paid to operators in Q1 2026; 250 initial NYC cleaning slots sold out immediately; launch video with 8M+ views.
Market positioning
Early-stage embodied AI data infrastructure company competing in the race to close the "100,000-year data gap" for robotics — the gap between how much real-world training data robots need vs. what exists.
Geographic focus
Global (15 countries including US, UK, Germany, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Georgia, South Africa, Turkey); NYC launch for free cleaning; expanding to SF, London, Munich, Zurich.
About Bercan Kilic
Ex-Formula One aerodynamic engineer at Red Bull Racing; RWTH Aachen University. Ex-professional esports player.
Official website: https://shift.app