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26 May 2026, 16:25

Human Archive raises $8.2M to turn India’s gig workers into robot trainers

BitcoinWorld Human Archive raises $8.2M to turn India’s gig workers into robot trainers As the race to build physical AI — robots that can perform real-world tasks — intensifies, a Silicon Valley startup is betting that India’s vast gig economy holds the key to solving one of the industry’s most stubborn bottlenecks: a shortage of high-quality training data. Human Archive, founded by four researchers from Stanford and UC Berkeley, announced Tuesday that it has raised $8.2 million in seed funding from Wing Venture Capital, NVP Capital, Y Combinator, and angel investors from OpenAI, Nvidia, Google, and Meta. The company’s core premise is straightforward: equip workers from India’s booming home services and food delivery sectors with head-mounted cameras and other sensors to capture first-person video of everyday tasks, then sell that data to robotics labs and AI companies training the next generation of physical AI systems. Why gig workers are suddenly valuable to AI labs Robotics researchers have long struggled to collect large volumes of real-world demonstration data showing humans performing tasks like cleaning, cooking, assembling objects, or providing personal care. Synthetic data and lab-recorded demonstrations are useful but often fail to capture the messy, unpredictable conditions of actual homes and workplaces. Egocentric — or first-person — video, paired with sensor data such as tactile force and motion capture, is considered significantly more valuable for training robots to generalize across environments. Human Archive’s founders realized that India’s gig economy, which employs millions of workers performing precisely these kinds of tasks daily, represents an untapped and scalable source of that data. The company has deployed more than 1,000 active headset units across multiple partner companies in the home services, hospitality, and restaurant sectors, and claims to have more than 50 different custom hardware devices in the field collecting synchronized RGB-D video, tactile force, and full-body motion capture data. “No one else in the world has been able to synchronize and collect headset RGB-D, force feedback, full-body motion capture, and synchronized chest and wrist camera data at scale,” said Zach DeWitt, a partner at Wing VC, in a statement provided to Bitcoin World. Partnerships, rejections, and public friction Human Archive’s path has not been smooth. The startup was rejected by several major Indian home services platforms, including Urban Company and Pronto. Urban Company CEO Abhiraj Singh Bhal publicly stated the company would not engage in such data collection arrangements, prompting a sharp response from Human Archive co-founder Raj Patel, who argued Urban Company would eventually be forced to reconsider or risk losing relevance. Pronto acknowledged early discussions but said it chose not to move forward. Instead, Human Archive has partnered with smaller startups, offering consumers a choice: pay a discounted price for a service in exchange for consenting to data collection, or pay full price for an unrecorded visit. Patel told Bitcoin World that many customers opt for the discount, partly because video recordings can help resolve disputes about service quality — a common pain point in the sector. Compensation, privacy, and regulatory scrutiny Workers participating in data collection are paid a base rate of approximately $1 per hour, which is lower than the ₹250–₹400 per hour (roughly $2.63–$4.20) reported by competitors. Patel said the company’s on-the-ground presence in India allows it to keep compensation lower, while DeWitt framed the payments as providing “immediate, flexible earning opportunities globally, lowering the barrier to participating in the AI economy.” Privacy concerns are central to the model. Human Archive states that all data is anonymized, with faces blurred from recordings, and that its commercial contracts comply with India’s Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act. However, last week, India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology began looking into the consent mechanisms and data collection practices of startups collecting egocentric data through home service workers, according to a report from Moneycontrol. The full scope and outcome of that inquiry remain unclear. What sets Human Archive apart The company is developing a suite of custom hardware — including tactile gloves, a full-body motion capture suit, and wrist cameras — to capture data beyond video alone. Co-founder Rushil Agarwal noted that early experiments began with iPhones and off-the-shelf rigs, but the team quickly realized that pairing video with synchronized tactile force and motion data made the dataset significantly more valuable to AI labs. Human Archive is also building internal models to fine-tune AI systems using its own data and testing them on robots to evaluate task effectiveness. This allows the startup to demonstrate data quality to potential customers and differentiate itself from competitors that offer only raw video. Expansion plans and the broader physical AI race While India remains the primary data collection hub, Human Archive has begun expanding into Southeast Asia and the United States. The company is building a platform that would allow anyone to participate in data collection and earn money, and is piloting programs in the U.S. where consumers can receive services like cleaning or cooking in exchange for data collection by participating workers. Multiple well-funded startups — including Figure AI, Covariant, and others — are racing to build physical AI systems capable of performing real-world tasks. All of them face the same fundamental challenge: they need massive amounts of diverse, high-quality training data showing humans at work. Human Archive is positioning itself as a scalable supplier of that data, but its success will depend on the partnerships it can secure, the uniqueness and volume of the data it collects, and its ability to navigate the privacy and regulatory challenges that come with recording workers and customers in their homes. Conclusion Human Archive’s bet on India’s gig economy as a source of robot training data is novel and potentially scalable, but it faces significant headwinds: rejection by major platforms, regulatory scrutiny over consent and privacy, and the challenge of producing data that is genuinely more valuable than what competitors can offer. The $8.2 million funding round gives the startup runway to refine its hardware, expand its partner network, and demonstrate the quality of its multimodal datasets. Whether its approach can scale to meet the enormous appetite of the physical AI industry will be one of the more interesting questions in the robotics data market over the next year. FAQs Q1: What kind of data does Human Archive collect from gig workers? Human Archive collects egocentric (first-person) video using head-mounted cameras, along with synchronized data from tactile gloves, full-body motion capture suits, and wrist cameras. This includes RGB-D imagery, force feedback, and motion data. Q2: How much are workers paid for participating in data collection? Workers are paid a base rate of approximately $1 per hour, which is lower than the ₹250–₹400 per hour (roughly $2.63–$4.20) reported by some competitors. The company says its on-the-ground presence in India allows it to keep compensation lower. Q3: Is the data collection compliant with Indian privacy laws? Human Archive states that its contracts comply with India’s Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act. The company says all data is anonymized and faces are blurred. However, India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has begun looking into the consent mechanisms and data collection practices of such startups. This post Human Archive raises $8.2M to turn India’s gig workers into robot trainers first appeared on BitcoinWorld .

26 May 2026, 09:40

WasabiCard Integrates Arbitrum Network to Enhance Multi-Chain Payment Capabilities

BitcoinWorld WasabiCard Integrates Arbitrum Network to Enhance Multi-Chain Payment Capabilities WasabiCard, a Web3 financial infrastructure platform, has announced the integration of support for the Arbitrum network, marking a significant step in its effort to build a more accessible multi-chain payment ecosystem. The update allows users to fund their WasabiCard accounts directly on-chain from Arbitrum, offering a global payment experience characterized by lower transaction fees and higher processing speeds. Expanding Multi-Chain Payment Infrastructure The integration of Arbitrum, a leading Ethereum Layer-2 scaling solution, is part of WasabiCard’s broader strategy to bridge the gap between decentralized finance and everyday spending. By enabling direct on-chain funding from Arbitrum, the platform aims to reduce reliance on traditional banking rails and offer users more flexibility in managing their digital assets. The company has stated that this move is intended to provide a seamless, cost-effective payment solution for individuals and businesses operating within the Web3 space. Arbitrum’s technology is known for its ability to process transactions quickly and at a fraction of the cost of the Ethereum mainnet. This makes it an attractive option for payment applications, where low fees and fast settlement are critical. WasabiCard’s decision to add support for the network reflects a growing trend among crypto payment platforms to integrate with Layer-2 solutions to improve user experience and scalability. Implications for Stablecoin and On-Chain Asset Usage The move also has implications for the broader adoption of stablecoins and other on-chain assets for real-world payments. By lowering transaction costs and improving efficiency, WasabiCard is positioning itself as a viable alternative to traditional payment methods for users who prefer to hold and spend digital currencies. The company has indicated that it plans to continue expanding its multi-chain support, suggesting that more networks could be added in the future. Why This Matters for Users For everyday users, the integration means that funding a WasabiCard account from Arbitrum is now more practical and cost-effective. This could encourage more frequent use of crypto for purchases, subscriptions, and other routine transactions. For the broader Web3 ecosystem, it represents another step toward making decentralized financial tools interoperable with the global financial system. Conclusion WasabiCard’s integration of the Arbitrum network is a practical development in the ongoing evolution of crypto payment infrastructure. By focusing on lower fees and higher efficiency, the platform is addressing key barriers to mainstream adoption. As the company continues to expand its multi-chain capabilities, it may play a meaningful role in bridging the gap between on-chain assets and real-world spending. FAQs Q1: What is WasabiCard? WasabiCard is a Web3 financial infrastructure platform that provides a payment card linked to cryptocurrency accounts, allowing users to spend digital assets at merchants that accept traditional card payments. Q2: What is the Arbitrum network? Arbitrum is a Layer-2 scaling solution for Ethereum that processes transactions off the main chain, offering lower fees and faster confirmation times while maintaining security through Ethereum’s underlying consensus. Q3: How does the integration benefit users? Users can now fund their WasabiCard accounts directly from the Arbitrum network, benefiting from lower transaction costs and faster processing compared to using the Ethereum mainnet or other networks with higher fees. This post WasabiCard Integrates Arbitrum Network to Enhance Multi-Chain Payment Capabilities first appeared on BitcoinWorld .

26 May 2026, 09:30

Hyperliquid Expands Beyond Perps With Validator-Driven Prediction Markets for Offchain Events

Hyperliquid, the decentralized perpetual futures platform with over $5.5 billion in total value locked, has launched canonical prediction markets for real-world offchain events, powered by automated software run by its validator network. Validator-Based Markets Enter the Fray Hyperliquid, the L1 best known for its perpetual futures exchange, announced on May 26 that it now supports

26 May 2026, 09:00

Crypto Developers Under Siege As ‘TrapDoor’ Malware Hits Supply Chain

The attackers behind TrapDoor went after more than wallets and passwords — they embedded hidden instructions inside packages designed to manipulate AI coding assistants. According to security firm Socket, the goal was to trick tools like Claude and Cursor into running what appeared to be routine security scans, which would then quietly discover and send out secrets stored on a developer’s machine. Socket, a developer security platform, detected the campaign on Friday and published its findings on Sunday. Reports say the operation had already pushed out more than 34 malicious packages and 384 related versions by the time it was uncovered, with attackers continuing to release new updates across multiple software ecosystems. BREAKING: Active supply chain attack across npm, PyPI, and Crates.​io. Socket detected TrapDoor, a crypto stealer campaign hitting 34 malicious packages and 384 versions and artifacts, with attackers repeatedly pushing new releases across ecosystems. TrapDoor targets… pic.twitter.com/0CI758NJ6T — Socket (@SocketSecurity) May 24, 2026 Wallets, Keys, And Cloud Credentials All At Risk The malware cast a wide net. Socket said TrapDoor was built to steal data from several major crypto wallets — Coinbase, Binance, Solana, Sui, Aptos, and MetaMask — as well as the Brave browser. Beyond wallet data, the malware also went after SSH keys, cloud credentials, GitHub tokens, browser extension data, and API keys. TrapDoor supply chain attack hits npm, PyPI, and Crates-io. https://t.co/Q4ZUsUnZWY 34 malicious packages across 384 versions were used to steal crypto wallets, SSH keys, cloud credentials, and developer secrets from crypto, DeFi, Solana, and AI environments. The malware… pic.twitter.com/GJKcgUK9RK — The Hacker News (@TheHackersNews) May 25, 2026 The campaign spread across three major developer package repositories: npm, which serves JavaScript and Node.js developers; PyPI, used widely in Python, data science, and automation work; and Crates, the package hub for Rust developers. Package names were chosen carefully to look like standard tools — development helpers, project setup utilities, prompt engineering packages, and Solidity or Sui build helpers — making them easy to overlook during a routine install. Socket’s chief technology officer Ahmad Nassri said on Sunday that the GitHub activity tied to the campaign showed signs of AI-assisted development, pointing to broad security-themed templates, generic lure repositories, and a mix of partially built extraction ideas alongside working malware components. Signs Of A Larger, Coordinated Operation The timing of the campaign raised questions given that GitHub had reported unauthorized access to its internal repositories on May 20, just days before TrapDoor was detected. That breach followed the compromise of an employee’s device, according to reports. Socket described TrapDoor as a coordinated attack aimed squarely at crypto, decentralized finance, AI, and security developers — communities where sensitive credentials and wallet access are common. The campaign gave attackers broad reach precisely because the targeted developer communities often work across the same tools and ecosystems. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

26 May 2026, 08:26

Ferrari shares slide as $640,000 EV raises doubts about brand’s future

Ferrari (RACE) got hit in the market on Tuesday after showing its first fully electric car, the Luce, a $640,000 model that has already turned into a fight about what the brand should even be in the EV age. The launch was held in Rome by the Italian luxury sports car maker based out of Maranello, Italy. “Luce,” meaning “light” in Italian, has been named for the message of clarity and direction. However, the trading community hasn’t quite approved of the decision as Ferrari stocks listed on the Milan exchange dropped 6.1% in morning trade after narrowing some losses. Within the year, its stocks have lost close to 27%. Ferrari tests loyal buyers with an electric car that looks nothing like its old supercars The Luce is not a traditional Ferrari with its sharp corners, rumbling engines, and chaotic beauty associated with the brand. This is an entirely new car, with a novel design – something that made its debut quite challenging for Ferrari. In the past, the manufacturer had announced that it would never make an all-electric vehicle but instead opt for petrol-powered hybrid vehicles. Benedetto Vigna, the CEO of Ferrari, revealed in Rome that the Luce required a development period of five years to come to life. Following its presentation, he referred to it as a serious technology project rather than just another experiment with the company’s first electric car. The car uses its own Ferrari-built electric motors on each wheel, enabling it to accelerate to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds, allegedly. The company also said it built the car’s parts in-house, wanting to keep control of repairs for years and help protect the car’s resale value. That matters at this price point, because nobody paying $640,000 wants a future museum piece that becomes impossible to service. At the moment, it is difficult for large automobile companies to operate in the electric car sector. Such prestigious names as Porsche and Lamborghini had to tone down their electric car production due to declining interest. It is becoming even harder for them since Chinese electric brands started creating pressure through more affordable, fast, and aggressive competition. Ford and Volkswagen are going back to gasoline-powered vehicles. This is due to poor sales of electric vehicles in America during the time of Donald Trump’s presidency. Ferrari executives answer backlash as social media splits over the Luce design The internet reacted like the car had personally insulted someone’s grandfather. One X account wrote: “Ferrari just killed their brand just like Jaguar did. This is straight to the junkyard trash.” Another account posted: “What is going on with European Luxury car manufacturers? First Jaguar and now Ferrari.” (Jaguar had faced backlash after changing its look and brand message.) A third X post said: “Absolute masterclass in design. Ferrari just unveiled the breathtaking LUCE concept, and it is a total game changer.” Flavio Manzoni, Ferrari’s chief design officer, spoke about the criticism in an interview with YouTuber Cleo Abram. After that first mention, Flavio said critics are part of building something new. He also admitted that an electric Ferrari with a very different shape is “polarising,” but said he thinks people may warm to it in the coming months. Benedetto also defended the design when CNBC asked whether Ferrari could satisfy both new buyers and its traditional customers. He said : “Look, when you do a new technology, you need always to keep in mind a word that is called respect.” He added: “Respect of the technology, because when you have a new technology, you need to make sure that that technology is properly represented in the design, so the design must be different.” According to Benedetto, the company will not leave behind its petrol and hybrid vehicles. The smartest crypto minds already read our newsletter. Want in? Join them .

26 May 2026, 08:05

HTX Charity in Action: Delivering Warmth and Care to Children in Pakistan on Bitcoin Pizza Day

Panama City, May 25, 2026 — On May 22, the global crypto community celebrated the annual Bitcoin Pizza Day. On this special day, which marks the origin of the blockchain spirit, HTX chose to leave its mark through compassion. The platform visited 42 GD Government School & Mosque in Okara, Pakistan, to host an educational charity initiative . By donating educational and daily necessities to 120 local children, HTX demonstrated its commitment to social responsibility and conveyed the warmth of its community through meaningful charitable action. From Bitcoin Pizza to School Supplies: One Milestone, Two Meanings As a landmark date in the global crypto industry, Bitcoin Pizza Day draws widespread attention across the community every year. It serves as an interesting footnote in technological history and symbolizes the cultural cohesion of crypto space. When this occasion was linked to the backpacks, school uniforms, and stationery of 120 children, its meaning expanded even further—transforming from an annual celebration within the crypto industry into an opportunity to reach beyond the community and connect with the real world. By choosing Okara, Pakistan – a region with relatively limited educational resources – for this charity initiative, HTX demonstrated that charity should not remain a slogan but must reach the places where it is needed most. The donated supplies included 25 backpacks, 10 sets of children’s school uniforms, 50 stationery gift boxes, and 120 snack packs. By leveraging this iconic occasion within the global crypto community, HTX extended the goodwill and warmth of the blockchain world to a broader audience, ensuring that charitable support reaches children who genuinely need assistance. Sustained Charitable Efforts: From Consensus to Compassion One of the core principles of blockchain technology is decentralized trust and collaboration. While this concept has given rise to infrastructure such as decentralized finance and digital assets on a technological level, it can also evolve into a more direct form of social connection: linking those who can help with those who need it, across geographical and language barriers. Since its inception, HTX has been committed to exploring the diverse value it can deliver as a global Web3 gateway. The platform has stated that it will continue to focus on the needs of children in developing countries and regions with limited educational resources, give back to society through concrete actions, and turn the vision of “Web3 for Good” into a sustainable charitable practice. To learn more about HTX, please visit https://www.htx.com/ or HTX Square , and follow HTX on X , Telegram , and Discord . The post HTX Charity in Action: Delivering Warmth and Care to Children in Pakistan on Bitcoin Pizza Day first appeared on HTX Square .