Encord raises $60M for AI data infrastructure

The latest funding round values Encord at $550 million, bringing its total capital raised to $110 million. The round was led by Wellington Management, with participation from existing investors like Y Combinator and CRV, alongside new backers such as Bright Pixel Capital and Isomer Capital. Co-founders Ulrik Stig Hansen and Eric Landau started the company after observing that machine learning teams spent over 80% of their time on data, not model architecture. Encord's focus is on "physical AI," which powers systems in the real world like autonomous vehicles, drones, and robots. These systems rely on complex multimodal data—video, LiDAR, and sensor feeds—which legacy tools struggle to handle. Encord's platform is designed to manage the entire data lifecycle for this type of AI, from curation and annotation to evaluation, a key differentiator from competitors like Scale AI and Labelbox. This investment highlights a broader trend in the European AI landscape, where significant capital is flowing into infrastructure, not just model development. In the UK, other major AI-related funding rounds in early 2026 included Wayve's massive Series D for autonomous driving software and a £115m raise for fintech unicorn Allica Bank. This activity underscores the UK's position as a key technology ecosystem, valued at over £1 trillion. For engineering leaders, the transition from a hands-on role to a strategic CTO position requires a shift in focus from coding to scaling teams, aligning technology with business goals, and mastering communication with stakeholders and the board. A critical, often overlooked, aspect of the role is leading technical due diligence during M&A activities, which involves assessing scalability, security, and technical debt to prevent a promising acquisition from becoming a long-term liability. In the adtech space, 2026 is defined by the final deprecation of third-party cookies, forcing a strategic shift towards first-party data and new measurement frameworks. Programmatic advertising is increasingly focused on Supply Path Optimization (SPO) to improve transparency and reduce the 40-60% of ad spend lost to intermediaries. AI-powered creative automation is also becoming standard, allowing small teams to produce and test thousands of ad variations efficiently. The developer tool landscape in 2026 is heavily influenced by AI and the demand for speed. Open-source projects written in Rust, like the linter 'Ruff' and the JavaScript toolchain 'Biome', are gaining massive traction for their performance benefits over older tools. In the realm of AI development, tools like 'Dify' are emerging to help build and manage agentic workflows, allowing AI agents to handle complex, multi-step tasks with greater autonomy. The 2026 Formula 1 season is set for a major shake-up with the biggest regulation overhaul in over a decade, impacting both power units and aerodynamics. The season kicks off with the Australian Grand Prix (March 6-8), and experts predict the new rules could significantly alter the competitive pecking order. New teams, including Audi and Cadillac, are entering the championship, adding to the grid for the first time since 2016. For those in London, March offers a host of new cultural and culinary openings. In the West End, notable theatre premieres include 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses' starring Lesley Manville and Aidan Turner at the National Theatre and the return of the musical 'Kinky Boots' at the London Coliseum. The restaurant scene sees the much-anticipated reopening of 'Simpson's in the Strand' and the debut solo project from acclaimed chef Sally Abé, 'Teal', in Hackney.