Startup offers free home cleaning—if it can record it all for robot training
A tech startup is offering New York City residents free home cleaning with a twist-it will send professional cleaners" wearing cameras to record everything they do. All that data will supposedly be used to train AI-driven robots.
The unusual pitch comes from the German startup MicroAGI, whose website describes the company as a team of engineers, researchers, and operators on a mission to accelerate embodied AI." It began publicizing the free home-cleaning service run through its newly launched Shift app on May 28, with posts on social media sites such as X and LinkedIn featuring a video set to the upbeat piano notes of the Jay-Z and Alicia Keys song Empire State of Mind."
The Shift app website claims it connects New Yorkers with free, trusted professional house cleaners" in exchange for recording first-person cleaning footage to help train the next generation of household robots." The book a free cleaning" link directs clients to enter information such as a phone number, email address, and home address, along with access instructions, before booking an appointment that lasts an estimated two hours.