SUMMARY
- Pronto founder Anjali Sardana has launched Provision Labs, a San Francisco physical AI venture, while staying on as Pronto’s CEO.
- Its website lists Lachy Groom, Glade Brook, General Catalyst and Bain Capital Ventures as backers. Funding details haven’t been disclosed.
- Founders should watch the consent question: how Provision Labs sources its data, and whether Pronto is involved, remains unconfirmed.
Anjali Sardana is adding a second company to her plate. The founder of instant home-services startup Pronto has launched Provision Labs, a San Francisco-based venture that will collect real-world data to train and test AI systems that perform physical tasks, according to reports published on October 26, 2026.
She’ll run both. Sardana is listed as founder and CEO of Provision Labs on LinkedIn, and reports say she continues as Pronto’s chief executive.
Sardana, a former Bain Capital and 8VC investor, founded Pronto in 2025 to offer 10-minute on-demand home services. Business Today, citing Tracxn, put its valuation at about $202 Mn by July.
What Provision Labs says it does
Provision Labs describes its focus as the data, evaluation and deployment layer for physical AI. In plain terms, it wants to supply the real-world material robots need to learn tasks like handling objects, and to help developers test whether those systems actually work.
It will work with developers building AI models for robots and other practical applications, according to the Economic Times report that other outlets picked up. None of the coverage we found mentions a product, pricing, customers or team size yet.
Read More: Anjali Sardana Pronto: 23-Year-Old Builds $100M Startup in a Year
Same investors, new company
According to its website, Provision Labs is backed by Lachy Groom, Glade Brook, General Catalyst and Bain Capital Ventures. All four already back Pronto. Funding details haven’t been disclosed.
The Groom connection stands out. He co-founded Physical Intelligence, the robotics AI company, and led the $20 Mn extension that took Pronto’s Series B to $45 Mn at a $200 Mn valuation in May. TechCrunch reported he decided to back Sardana about 20 minutes into their first meeting.
For investors, the signal is that the same backers are placing a second bet on physical AI data, not just on Pronto’s service growth. The US base may also matter for how data rules apply, but nothing public explains how Provision Labs is structured.
The question nobody has answered: where does the data come from?
Here’s the part that needs care. Pronto ran a pilot that recorded household chores to generate robotics training data, and it drew heavy criticism in May. Journalist Harsh Upadhyay alleged on X that Pronto was “turning Indian homes into training grounds” for its investors’ physical AI ambitions.
Pronto defended the pilot. Rivals Snabbit and Urban Company distanced themselves, and Snabbit founder Aayush Agarwal said his company has no intention of deploying recording technology inside customers’ homes.
Mint then reported in July that Pronto was expanding its Verified service, which enables physical AI data collection through recordings made during household jobs.
So is Provision Labs connected to all this? Coverage disagrees. NewsBytes says Pronto’s service sessions help train Provision Labs’ AI, while Analytics India Magazine and Lapaas Voice say the link is unclear or unconfirmed. We found no official statement either way, so treat it as unconfirmed.
Read More: From Yoga Mats to a ₹400 Crore Round: Pallav Bihani’s Boldfit Story
Why physical AI data is suddenly a business
Language models learned from text scraped across the internet. Robots can’t do that. They need footage of people handling real objects in real spaces, with all the mess and variety that brings.
Ajay Agarwal, a Bain Capital Ventures partner and Pronto investor, told Forbes that demand for Pronto’s footage has surged as robotics became a hot AI category. Pronto declined to say which AI companies use its data. That’s one investor’s view, but it explains why a services company would look at data as a second product.
Indian startups are already building pipelines. Awign, Objectways and Human Archive supply first-person footage of human activity to AI developers, per Inc42, which projects India’s AI training dataset market at $1.3 Bn by 2033. On the robotics side, Mowito raised $3 Mn to build models that train industrial robots by observing human operators.
What founders should take from this
Sardana’s move shows how fast a services business can start looking like a data business, and how quickly the questions follow. Pronto was handling around 26,000 bookings a day with 6,500 workers as of May, per TechCrunch. That volume is exactly what makes real-world data attractive.
For founders sitting on operational data, the lesson cuts both ways. Data can become a second product. It can also become your biggest trust problem if consent isn’t explicit and visible from day one.
This is a developing story. Funding, team size and any data link to Pronto are unconfirmed, and we’ll update as more comes out.
Three things to hold onto
- Provision Labs is a San Francisco physical AI venture led by Sardana, who remains Pronto’s CEO.
- Its listed backers match Pronto’s investor list, but funding amounts and any data link to Pronto are still unconfirmed.
- Founders turning operational data into a product should make consent clear and visible before scaling collection.
Following this one? Tell us in the comments how Indian startups should handle consent when real-world data becomes a product, and share this with a founder weighing the same trade-off. We’ll keep covering Provision Labs as it shares more.
FAQs
What is Provision Labs?
Provision Labs is a San Francisco-based venture launched by Pronto founder Anjali Sardana. Its website says it focuses on the data, evaluation and deployment layer for physical AI, working with developers building models for robots and other machines.
Who founded Provision Labs?
Anjali Sardana, who also founded Pronto, is listed as founder and CEO of Provision Labs on LinkedIn. Reports say she continues to lead Pronto while running the new venture.
Who backs Provision Labs?
Its website lists Lachy Groom, Glade Brook, General Catalyst and Bain Capital Ventures. All four also back Pronto. The amount raised hasn’t been disclosed in the coverage we found.
Is Provision Labs connected to Pronto’s data pilot?
That’s unconfirmed. Pronto has run household-recording initiatives for physical AI data, and one outlet suggests a link, but others say the relationship is unclear. We found no official statement.
What is physical AI?
Physical AI refers to AI systems that perceive and act in the real world, such as robots handling objects or moving through homes. They need real-world data for training and testing, which is the gap Provision Labs says it targets.
When was Provision Labs launched?
Reports of the launch appeared on October 26, 2026. None of the coverage we found includes an exact founding date, funding timeline or team size, so expect more details as the company speaks to the press.
