# SAMASOURCE INC

> Samasource, now branded Sama, sells managed data annotation, validation, and model evaluation to enterprise AI teams. Founded by Leila Janah in 2008, it combines a software platform with directly managed workers, including teams in Kenya and Uganda. Its impact-sourcing mission has produced measured employment benefits, while former content moderators have challenged its working conditions in litigation that Sama disputes.

- **Founded:** 2008
- **Headquarters:** San Francisco, United States
- **Founders:** Leila Janah (Founder and former CEO)
- **Products:** Data annotation / Sama Annotate, Data validation / Sama Validate, Sama Curate, Sama GenAI, SamaHub
- **Notable:** Founded in 2008 and adopted the Sama brand in 2021., Raised US$14.8 million Series A and US$70 million Series B., First certified as a B Corporation in 2020, according to its 2024 impact highlights.

## Products & services

- **Data annotation / Sama Annotate** — Managed labeling of images, video, text, and 3D sensor data, supported by software and human quality checks.
- **Data validation / Sama Validate** — Human review and correction of labels and predictions to improve dataset quality.
- **Sama Curate** — Data curation to identify useful assets for annotation and model improvement.
- **Sama GenAI** — Model-response evaluation, fact checking, instruction-following assessment, preference ranking, and captioning.
- **SamaHub** — Collaborative workspace for managing annotation and validation projects.
- **Smart Review** — Configurable and automated sampling of annotation review; company pilots reported review rates near 10% with quality scores above 95%. Results are project-specific.
- **Bulk Annotation** — Groups similar records so an annotator can classify a set together. Company pilots reported throughput improvements up to 80% and inconsistency reductions up to 25%.
- **Professional services** — Custom workflow design around model architecture, performance targets, and production constraints.

## Achievements

- Founded in 2008 and adopted the Sama brand in 2021.
- Raised US$14.8 million Series A and US$70 million Series B.
- First certified as a B Corporation in 2020, according to its 2024 impact highlights.
- A 2021 randomized study found almost 40% higher earnings and about 10 percentage points less unemployment for participants offered training plus a job referral versus the control group.
- Walmart case study reports retail item coverage rising from 91% to 98% by 2019.
- Company reported a 17.1% reduction in absolute carbon emissions in 2024 against its 2023 baseline.

## Latest updates

- **2025-10** — Launched Smart Review on October 14; announced sampling-based quality assurance and pilot results.
- **2025-11** — Launched Bulk Annotation on November 19, grouping similar records for collective classification.
- **2026-04** — AP reported on April 16 that Sama issued a layoff notice affecting 1,108 workers following the termination of a major Meta engagement; the report distinguished its later labeling work from its discontinued moderation services.

## Links

- Website: https://www.sama.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sama-ai/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/SamaAI
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SamaAI
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sama_ai_/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samaartificialintelligence

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/samasource-inc
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-21