AI · founded 2014
Handshake AI
Supplies expert human data and model training work to frontier AI labs and enterprises, drawing on Handshake's network of students and early-career talent. Started as a career network, which it still runs; the AI business now brings in most of the revenue.
Private. Last priced round was a $200M Series F at a $3.5B valuation (Jan 2022). Gross ARR passed about $1.1B in April 2026, roughly $1B of it from Handshake AI. Bought Cleanlab (Jan 2026) and Uplimit (Jun 2026).
Founders
Garrett Lord, Ben Christensen, Scott Ringwelski
Palantir alumni at Handshake AI
- Garrett Lord, Co-founder and CEO
- Wes Field, Chief Commercial Officer, Handshake AI
- Daniel Blasingame, Enterprise Lead, Handshake AI
- Paul Carrington, Enterprise Lead
- John Kottlowski, Enterprise Lead
- Jackson Dealey, Handshake AI (title unconfirmed, likely Enterprise Lead)
- John Bristow, Business Development, Handshake AI
- Michael Williams, Head of Enterprise Deployment
- Elias Müller-Möhl, Head of Commercial Strategy, Handshake AI
- Joseph Mathew, Founding Engineer, FDE
- Josh Weyburne, Founding Forward Deployed Engineer, Handshake AI