Built for the Work Machines Cannot Do
We started on the jobs other annotation providers turned down. The messy, ambiguous, edge-case-heavy work that required precision and patience. That origin shapes everything we do today — from LLM evaluation and RLHF labeling to 3D LiDAR annotation for autonomous systems.
From One Upwork Account to Africa’s Managed Evaluation Team
TechAI Remote did not start with a pitch deck or a venture round. It started in 2017 with one person on Upwork, taking on annotation jobs that other freelancers turned down — the messy, ambiguous, edge-case-heavy work that required patience and precision. The jobs nobody wanted became the foundation for a company built on the principle that the hardest annotation work is the most valuable.
By 2020 that solo operation had grown into an Upwork agency. By 2023 it was incorporated as TechAI Remote — a fully structured managed annotation company with trained teams, multi-stage QA systems, and the operational maturity to handle production-scale datasets.
In 2026 we made a deliberate pivot. The AI industry told us where demand was flowing — not toward more bounding boxes, but toward human judgment that cannot be automated. LLM evaluation, RLHF labeling, agent benchmarking, audio scoring. Every LLM that ships had humans behind it. We became that layer. 3D LiDAR and computer vision annotation remain core to what we do. But the human judgment lane is where we lead.
Started on Upwork
First annotation projects — took on complex edge case work others avoided. Built a reputation for quality on difficult tasks.
Launched Upwork Agency
Grew from solo to team. Established first QA processes and training programs. Started handling larger production datasets.
Incorporated as TechAI Remote
Full company structure with trained raters, dedicated QA leads, and enterprise-grade project management. 1.3M+ license plate annotations delivered in year one.
Expanded to 140+ Raters
Built dedicated 3D LiDAR and sensor fusion capability. Invested in self-hosted CVAT infrastructure. Positioned as a managed 3D annotation provider.
LLM Evaluation Lane Launched
Pivoted to lead with human judgment work — RLHF preference labeling, agent benchmarking, audio CSAT scoring. MSA signed with enterprise AI data platform. Active projects in LLM labeling, agent evaluation, and audio scoring. 3D LiDAR retained as a strong secondary lane.
A Managed Floor. Not a Marketplace.
Most annotation companies give you access to a pool of freelancers. You get whoever is online. You accept inconsistency as a cost of doing business. The numbers look fine in aggregate but the tail failures are exactly where your model needs help most.
TechAI Remote is a managed floor. Every rater is trained on your rubric specifically, reviewed by a lead auditor, and held to a 4-layer QA pipeline before a single item reaches you. You are not buying individual raters. You are buying a quality-controlled pipeline that runs unsupervised, delivers consistently, and flags problems before they become your problem.
We are independent and conflict-free. No ties to any AI lab, platform vendor, or competing technology company. In a market where the largest annotation provider just lost its neutrality through acquisition, that independence is something we take seriously and intend to maintain.
The structure is the product. Four-layer QA is not a marketing claim — it is self-review, peer check, lead audit, and client-spec validation on every single batch before delivery. Every disagreement is flagged with a rationale, not just a score.
The People Behind the Pipeline
Two people with complementary skills — one running client strategy and delivery, one owning quality and operations. Between them, every project has an owner at every stage.
Started freelancing on Upwork in 2017, grew it into an agency by 2020, and incorporated TechAI Remote in 2023. Manages company operations, client relationships, outreach strategy, and positioning. Hands-on with every major project from scoping through delivery. The person who decides which opportunities to pursue and which to decline.
Runs in-house quality assurance across all annotation types. Designs QA workflows, manages rater training programs, and owns the 98.5% accuracy standard. The person who ensures every label that leaves TechAI Remote meets production requirements — and who traces any error back to its source when it does not.
140+ Trained Raters. Hybrid Floor.
TechAI Remote operates a hybrid model — a core in-house team works from our Nairobi office, with the broader rater pool operating remotely. Annotation quality depends on training depth, rubric familiarity, and team consistency. We deliver that through structure, not luck.
Who Our Raters Are
- ✓University students in computer science and technical disciplines, recruited from Nairobi-based institutions
- ✓Trained to specific rubrics before touching production data — not generic onboarding
- ✓3D LiDAR annotators complete 120+ hours of dedicated training before production access
- ✓LLM evaluators calibrated to each client’s rubric with inter-annotator agreement measured before scale
- ✓English core team with French, Chinese (Mandarin), and German speaking capacity for multilingual evaluation projects
Operational Capacity
- ✓Hybrid model: core leadership and senior QA team work in-house in Nairobi; broader rater pool operates remotely
- ✓140+ trained raters across LLM Evaluation, 3D Annotation, Sensor Fusion, QA, 6DoF and Robotics, and Edge Case specialisms
- ✓GMT+3 timezone with European morning and US East Coast afternoon overlap
- ✓Recruitment pipeline directly into Nairobi university talent pool for rapid scaling
- ✓40 to 60% cost advantage over Western providers at equivalent QA standard
Six Things That Actually Differentiate Us
Not every annotation company claims the same things. Here is what makes TechAI Remote specifically the right choice for the work we do.
Managed Service, Not a Platform
We deliver finished, QA-verified output. You do not manage annotators, train teams, or troubleshoot tooling. Send us data, get back production-ready labels or evaluation scores.
Fully Independent
No ties to any AI lab, platform vendor, or competing technology company. In a market where the largest annotation provider lost its neutrality through acquisition, conflict-free independence matters more than it did twelve months ago.
Edge Case DNA
We did not pivot to hard annotation work. We started there. Our origin is the messy, ambiguous jobs other providers avoid. That DNA runs through everything we do, from LLM eval rubric calibration to 3D LiDAR edge case annotation.
40 to 60% Cost Advantage
Nairobi-based operations with significantly lower cost structure than US and European providers. Equivalent quality annotation at a fraction of the price — without sacrificing QA rigor or team stability.
GMT+3 Time Zone
Overlap with European mornings and US East Coast afternoons. Feedback loops that span business hours on both sides — not async delays that stretch timelines into days.
Self-Hosted Infrastructure
Data never passes through third-party SaaS between you and your evaluation output. Role-based access, NDA-bound environment, daily encrypted backups. Your IP stays yours.
Data Security Built for Sensitive AI Work
LLM evaluation data and autonomous vehicle perception data are among the most sensitive IP in AI development. They reveal what the model can and cannot do, what safety priorities are, and what capabilities are being developed ahead of public release. We treat that accordingly.
NDA Standard
Non-disclosure agreements executed before any data transfer on every project. No exceptions, no opt-out.
ISO 27001 In-Flight
Information security management system certification in progress. Target Q4 2026. Roadmap documented and available on request.
SOC 2 Roadmap
Security and availability controls certification roadmap in place. Type I observation period beginning after ISO 27001 completion.
GDPR Posture
Data processing agreements for European clients. PII in AV data and evaluation content handled under GDPR protocols.
Self-Hosted Infrastructure
Data never leaves our server without your explicit export. No third-party SaaS sitting between you and your data. Daily encrypted backups with 7-day retention.
Role-Based Access
Full audit trails on annotator access and data interactions. Every annotation traceable to a named rater. No anonymous crowd access.
Start With a Free Pilot
200 to 500 items — LLM evaluation, 3D LiDAR, or 2D annotation. No cost, no commitment. You see the quality on your actual data before any contract is signed.