Oslo-based startup Kinetic Blocks has launched a beta version of a two-sided marketplace for buying and selling humanoid robot training data. The platform opened on September 1 after several months of development with an initial group of data suppliers and early users. Access is restricted: Kinetic Blocks reviews applications individually, approving suppliers that own or control data they are entitled to license and buyers actively training humanoid models.
Key takeaways
- The company frames access to suitable training data as a growing constraint on humanoid development, arguing that bilateral data deals can take months and leave licensing rights unclear.
- Approved suppliers can list egocentric human video, robot teleoperation recordings and robot execution data, submitted in the LeRobot v3.0 format or their own formats.
- Sellers set prices, Kinetic Blocks takes a platform margin, and buyers receive a commercial license as part of the transaction, establishing usage rights before the data enters model training.
- Datasets are graded through the company's KBQS quality system, intended to give a consistent mechanism across listings.
- Kinetic Blocks states the catalogue is small and will stay small for a while, with parts of the workflow still manual and KBQS criteria subject to revision.
The beta period is intended to reveal how buyers value datasets, how suppliers price them and where transaction difficulties arise. Founded by CEO Lars-Fredrik Forberg with Erik Ålgård and Christian Rokseth, the company plans to expand engineering and commercial teams across the US, Europe and Asia, and to open a seed round in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Source: Robotics & Automation News · Published 2026-09-14T16:22:39 · “Kinetic Blocks launches marketplace for humanoid robot training data”