Rapidata: The Venture Leader Technology powering AI with rapid and scalable human data processing

28.03.2025 09:30, Rita Longobardi

Meet Jason Corkill, CEO of Rapidata. The ICT startup enables fast, scalable, and affordable human-verified data processing for AI. Jason and the other nine Swiss National Technology Team members will fly to Silicon Valley in April.

Name: Jason Corkill
Location: Zürich, Switzerland
Nationality: Swiss
Graduated from: ETH Zürich
Job title: Founder
Number of employees: 11
Money raised: CHF 2'720'000
 

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Can you tell us who your product or solution helps, and how?
As AI advances, data remains the biggest bottleneck. With labeled data nearly exhausted, foundation model builders need new, high-quality datasets. Rapidata offers scalable, on-demand data labeling through the digital ad space, providing fast, cost-effective annotations. Ideal for tech companies, research institutes, and students, our solution eliminates the inefficiencies of traditional methods by leveraging 24 million global users for crowd-based validation, ensuring accuracy and reducing bias.

What market are you addressing and what is the potential of your startup in that market?
The data labeling market is growing rapidly, projected to reach USD 44.5 billion by 2029. Our focus is on high-impact sectors like IT, Automotive, and Retail/Ecommerce, with a serviceable market of USD 6.2 billion by 2027. Currently, we serve AI startups and research labs, refining our approach before expanding to enterprises like Microsoft, OpenAI, and Meta. With over 40,955 AI companies and 37,000 AI research papers published annually, our long-term goal is to become the leading provider of human intelligence for AI by 2030.
  During my AI engineering internship at Sony, I spent countless hours labeling my face for a dataset I had created. It was tedious and inefficient. Around the same time, my co-founder Marian, frustrated by mobile apps flooded with ads while learning Spanish, had an idea: what if users could complete microtasks instead of watching ads? That sparked the idea to transform data labeling into an engaging process, using ad space to scale tasks.

What do you expect from the Venture Leaders roadshow, and how do you think it will help you achieve your vision?
The Venture Leaders roadshow offers a chance to expand our network, refine our strategy, and gain global exposure. Our goals are to:
- Build connections with key players in AI.
- Sharpen our pitch with expert feedback.
- Boost Rapidata’s visibility.
- Validate market fit and explore growth opportunities.
- This experience will help position Rapidata as a leader in human intelligence for AI training.

Key achievements:
We've developed a scalable platform reaching 500,000 devices daily and 24 million users globally. Our collaborations with top AI providers, Python API, and open-source contributions reflect our impact. Additionally, being part of Venture Leaders Technology 2025 provides us with valuable exposure and investor access.
 

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Is there a key principle or value that guides you as you build your company?
At Rapidata, our core principle is maximizing efficiency while creating real value. We believe that human intelligence is one of the most underutilized resources, often wasted on unproductive tasks like watching ads. Instead of letting time and effort go to waste, we aim to redirect that energy toward solving meaningful problems, such as improving AI through scalable, high-quality data labeling.

What is the most important lesson you have learned as a founder?
The biggest lesson I've learned as a founder is that execution matters more than ideas. A great concept is meaningless without the ability to build, iterate, and adapt quickly. Success depends on navigating uncertainty, learning from failures, and pushing forward. Surrounding yourself with the right people—team, advisors, and customers—who challenge you is key. Ultimately, the ability to listen, adapt, and make decisions based on feedback determines success.

What is your favorite productivity hack or tool and why?
The best productivity hack I’ve learned is ruthless prioritization, focusing only on what truly matters. As a founder, I constantly ask, "Is this the highest-impact task?" If not, I delegate or drop it. For tools, I rely on Superhuman, an email client that boosts efficiency with intuitive shortcuts, AI triage, and a fast interface, helping me maintain inbox zero without the usual email fatigue.

What was your dream job when you were a child?
From a young age, I was fascinated by how technology shapes the world, leading me to pursue a Master's in Robotics at ETH Zurich. There, I worked on AI, automation, and machine learning, gaining both theoretical and hands-on experience. Now, as a founder, I continue to follow that childhood passion, using technology to solve real-world challenges in AI and beyond.