Prolific

Prolific

Platform for accessing quality human data

About Prolific

Simplify's Rating
Why Prolific is rated
A-
Rated B on Competitive Edge
Rated A on Growth Potential
Rated A on Differentiation

Industries

Data & Analytics

AI & Machine Learning

Company Size

201-500

Company Stage

Series A

Total Funding

$33.4M

Headquarters

London, United Kingdom

Founded

2014

Overview

Prolific provides a platform for researchers and developers to collect high-quality data from real participants. The platform connects users with a large pool of engaged individuals, allowing them to launch studies quickly, with a new study starting every two minutes. Prolific stands out from its competitors by focusing on the quality of participants and the data collected, ensuring that researchers receive reliable and relevant information. The company's goal is to create the largest and most accessible database of human data, facilitating better research and development in various fields.

YC Company
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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Prolific raised $32M to expand its AI training and testing operations.
  • Increased demand for AI model testing boosts Prolific's market potential.
  • Growing interest in human-in-the-loop AI systems benefits Prolific's business model.

What critics are saying

  • Competition from platforms like Scale AI poses a threat to Prolific.
  • Ethical concerns about human data use could lead to regulatory scrutiny.
  • Dependence on large clients like Google risks revenue loss if they switch.

What makes Prolific unique

  • Prolific uses a network of 120,000 human participants for AI model testing.
  • The platform provides verified data from diverse human participants for AI training.
  • Prolific's system addresses the challenge of finding comprehensive participant cross-sections.

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Funding

Total Funding

$33.4M

Above

Industry Average

Funded Over

2 Rounds

Notable Investors:
Series A funding typically happens when a startup has a product and some customers, and now needs funding to scale. This money is usually used to grow the team, expand marketing, and improve the product. Venture capital firms are frequently the main investors here.
Series A Funding Comparison
Above Average

Industry standards

$15M
$8.2M
Discord
$15M
Canva
$30M
Kalshi
$32M
Prolific

Benefits

Remote Work Options

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

0%

1 year growth

-1%

2 year growth

0%
Startup Centrum
Jul 16th, 2023
Weekly startup ecosystem overview in europe / July 10 – 15

SMART-Photonics, a pure-play foundry for Indium Phosphide photonics semiconductors, has raised €100 million in debt-financing round from Rabobank, Innovation Industries, Government of the Netherlands, ASML, Brabant Development, VDL Groep, KPN Ventures, PhotonDelta and NXP Semiconductors.

Finsmes
Jul 14th, 2023
Prolific raises £25m in funding

Prolific, a London, UK-based provider of a platform that matches AI developers with engaged and verified people, raised £25M in funding.

China News Daily
Jul 12th, 2023
Chicago News Daily - Prolific raises $32M to use people to train and test AI models

Prolific, a company that was founded to source verified data from human participants, said today that it has raised $32 million in a Series A funding round co-led by Partech and Oxford Science …

Tech Company News
Jul 12th, 2023
Prolific secures $32M funding to enhance AI Training and Testing

London-based startup Prolific has raised $32 million to further develop its unique system that uses a network of 120,000 human participants to train and stress-test AI models.

TechCrunch
Jul 11th, 2023
Prolific Raises $32M To Train And Stress-Test Ai Models Using Its Network Of 120K People

AI, when it works well, can feel like magic, but all too often AI-based systems don’t work as they should: If the data used to train models is not deep, wide and reliable enough, any kind of curveball can send that AI in the wrong direction. A London startup called Prolific has built a system it believes can help head off that issue, by tapping a network of 120,000 human participants to inform and stress test AI models. And in a sign of demand for its services, Prolific has now raised some funding — £25 million ($32 million) — to expand its operations.The round was co-led by Partech and Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE).Prolific was founded in 2014 and already counts organizations like Google, Stanford University, the University of Oxford, King’s College London and the European Commission among its customers, using its network of participants to test new products, train AI systems in areas like eye tracking and determine whether their human-facing AI applications are working as their creators want them to. Up to now, it’s been revenue from users like these that have helped Prolific grow. In fact, the only money Prolific had raised prior to this round was a seed round of $1.4 million it got after going through YC. (Yes, it was profitable; no longer now that it’s taking VC money and investing in growth.)“We’ve seen incredible traction recently, and have a huge opportunity in front of us so are taking on this new funding to supercharge our efforts and expand our product, and range of participants, much faster than we could have without it,” Phelim Bradley, the founder and CEO, said over email to TechCrunch.The company was conceived initially not out of a specific need in the world of AI, but out of a general problem that researchers often face with panels for anything, something Bradley identified in his own academic work (his background, before Prolific, was in computational biology and physics).In short, it’s a challenge to find comprehensive cross sections of people to respond to questions, and nearly impossible to do so in a timely manner

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Prolific is Hiring for 20 Jobs on Simplify!

Find jobs on Simplify and start your career today

💡
We update Prolific's jobs every few hours, so check again soon! Browse all jobs →