Bezos Expeditions, the investment firm of Jeff Bezos, is spearheading a major $72 million funding round for Toloka, an AI data solutions company. This capital injection aims to support Toloka’s business growth, with particular emphasis on expanding its presence in the U. S. market. Toloka operates as a subsidiary of Nebius Group, a Nasdaq-listed technology holding company specializing in artificial intelligence, focusing on training and evaluating AI models via contributions from human experts. The company has forged strong partnerships with key industry players like Amazon, Microsoft, and Anthropic, underscoring its vital role within the AI ecosystem. By utilizing human intelligence, Toloka strives to enhance AI model performance, acknowledging the ongoing importance of human oversight in building and maintaining reliable AI systems. Nebius Group, headquartered in Amsterdam, emerged from a substantial $5. 4 billion corporate restructuring that separated it from the Russian tech giant Yandex. This strategic separation enabled Nebius to attract foreign investments that had been previously blocked due to sanctions imposed after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. These sanctions had effectively prevented U. S. entities from investing, limiting global capital flow and partnerships for Russian-affiliated tech firms. Olga Megorskaya, Toloka’s CEO, highlighted the strategic importance of the investment by Bezos Expeditions.

She noted that the partnership will be crucial for scaling Toloka’s operations and extending its reach amid rising demand for human-in-the-loop AI training services. Megorskaya stressed that despite rapid AI automation progress, human oversight remains essential for quality assurance, ethical AI development, and transparency. This funding round also drew interest from other prominent investors. Nvidia, for example, had previously participated in a significant $700 million private placement with Nebius Group, signaling strong industry confidence. Additionally, Mikhail Parakhin, Shopify’s Chief Technology Officer, joined this round and is set to become Toloka’s executive chairman. His involvement is expected to deliver valuable technological leadership and strategic guidance as Toloka pursues its expansion goals. While Nebius Group will retain a majority economic stake in Toloka, it will cede voting control to Toloka, granting the company greater operational independence necessary for agile decision-making and innovation. This governance change reflects a model that balances entrepreneurial autonomy with ongoing financial support and strategic oversight. Looking forward, Megorskaya outlined plans for further fundraising rounds to maintain momentum and leverage emerging opportunities in the AI market. These capital infusions aim to accelerate Toloka’s platform development, broaden service offerings, and fortify its standing within the competitive AI training industry. In summary, the $72 million funding round led by Bezos Expeditions represents a key milestone for Toloka, enabling its U. S. expansion and bolstering its mission to integrate human expertise with advanced AI technology. Backed by the extensive Nebius Group infrastructure, Toloka is well-positioned to advance AI model training and evaluation with enhanced operational freedom, strengthened leadership, and robust financial and strategic partnerships.