Bezos backs Toloka with $72M to advance human-AI collaboration

Bezos Expeditions’ $72 million investment in Toloka signals growing confidence in the human-AI collaboration model for building robust artificial intelligence systems. This strategic move not only accelerates Toloka’s expansion in the U.S. market but also highlights how the company has successfully navigated complex geopolitical challenges following its separation from Russian internet giant Yandex. The investment underscores the persistent need for human oversight in AI development even as autonomous systems become more sophisticated.

The big picture: Jeff Bezos’ personal investment firm is leading a $72 million funding round for Toloka, an AI data solutions company that helps train and evaluate AI models using human experts.

• Toloka is part of Nasdaq-listed AI infrastructure firm Nebius Group, which emerged from last year’s $5.4 billion split of Russian internet giant Yandex’s domestic and international assets.
• The company has worked with major tech players including Amazon, Microsoft, and Anthropic, positioning it at the intersection of human expertise and artificial intelligence.

Why this matters: The investment represents a significant milestone for a company that previously would have struggled to secure U.S. investment due to Russia-related sanctions.

• The deal demonstrates how the corporate restructuring that separated Nebius from Yandex has successfully opened doors to Western capital markets.
• It reinforces the industry consensus that human oversight remains essential for ensuring AI quality and reliability.

What they’re saying: Toloka emphasizes the enduring role of human experts in AI development despite advances in autonomous capabilities.

• “There will always be the need for control, verification, and help from human experts to ensure that the result is actually of high quality,” Toloka founder and CEO Olga Megorskaya told Reuters.
• Mikhail Parakhin, CTO of Shopify who is joining Toloka’s board as executive chairman, expressed excitement about joining “at a time when the demand for world-class AI data expertise is more urgent than ever.”

Key details: The investment reshapes Toloka’s governance structure while maintaining Nebius’s significant economic interest.

• Nebius will retain a “significant majority economic stake” while relinquishing majority voting control, giving Toloka operational independence.
• Shopify CTO Mikhail Parakhin is participating in the investment alongside Bezos Expeditions and will join Toloka’s new board of directors.
• Megorskaya indicated that the company anticipates another investment round in the future.

Behind the numbers: This investment follows Nebius’s own $700 million private placement late last year, which included chip giant Nvidia among its investors.

• The Bezos-led investment specifically targets Toloka’s growth in the U.S. market and its development of products that combine human expertise with AI agents.
• The deal reflects the broader trend of massive investment flowing into AI infrastructure companies during the current tech boom.