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ZenO

Category: Robotics / Embodied AI

A decentralized data infrastructure platform designed to solve the 'data bottleneck' in Physical AI by collecting and managing high-quality, egocentric (POV) video and audio datasets for robotics training. ZenO was founded in 2024. The company is led by Dawn Kim. Based in Palo Alto, USA. Team size: 1-10. Total funding raised: Undisclosed. Latest round: Seed. Key investors include NVIDIA Inception, Story Protocol.

Founded
2024
Headquarters
Palo Alto, USA
Team size
1-10
Total funding
Undisclosed

Value proposition

Provides a scalable solution for acquiring hard-to-reach real-world POV data while utilizing blockchain-based protocols to ensure data provenance, IP rights clearing, and fair compensation for data contributors.

Products and solutions

Egocentric Data Collection Network, ZenO Public Beta Platform, AI Data IP Management Layer (Story Protocol Integration), Physical AI Training Datasets (POV Video/Audio)

Unique value

Focuses specifically on 'Physical AI' data—real-world, first-person perspective sensory input—which is significantly more scarce and difficult to collect than the web-scraped text used for LLMs.

Target customer

Humanoid robotics manufacturers, Physical AI researchers, autonomous agent developers, and AI model trainers.

Industries served

Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Data Infrastructure, Autonomous Systems

Technology advantage

Leverages a decentralized architecture to crowdsource data collection while integrating automated IP management to solve the legal and ethical hurdles of AI data sourcing. Led by a founding team with direct experience in humanoid robotics (Figure) and hyperscale product management (Microsoft/Amazon).

How they differentiate

Focuses exclusively on 'Physical AI' through egocentric (POV) data collection, utilizing a decentralized network and blockchain-based IP management (via Story Protocol) to solve data provenance and ownership issues that traditional data labeling firms do not address.

Main competitors

Scale AI, Viam, Grass (Wynd Network)

Key partnerships

Story Protocol (Strategic integration for IP management and data provenance), NVIDIA Inception (Member of the program for advanced AI and robotics startups)

Notable customers

Humanoid robotics manufacturers, Physical AI research laboratories, Autonomous agent developers

Major milestones

Founded in 2024 by former Figure and Microsoft product leader Dawn Kim, Selected for the NVIDIA Inception program for high-potential AI startups, Established strategic integration with Story Protocol for AI data IP management, Launched Public Beta for real-world data collection in February 2026

Growth metrics

Transitioned from stealth to Public Beta in February 2026; currently scaling a decentralized network of data contributors for egocentric video/audio collection.

Market positioning

Specialized infrastructure layer for Embodied AI and Humanoid Robotics, positioned as the primary source for high-quality, real-world sensory datasets.

Geographic focus

Global (decentralized data collection network) with a primary corporate focus on the North American robotics and AI hub (Palo Alto, CA).

Patents and IP

No registered patents disclosed as of latest update; focuses on proprietary data collection methodologies and protocol integrations.

About Dawn Kim

Dawn Kim is a seasoned product leader in the robotics and AI sectors. Prior to co-founding ZenO, she held a key product role at Figure, a leading humanoid robotics company, where she focused on the development of embodied AI. Her professional background includes significant tenures as a Product Manager at Microsoft and Amazon, where she managed large-scale tech ecosystems and product launches.

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