Pronto faces backlash for recording inside homes to train physical AI and robotics systems

Why Pronto Is Recording Inside Homes to Train Physical AI

Pronto, a Bengaluru-based home services startup, has been sending camera-equipped workers into customers' homes to collect footage for training physical AI and robotics systems. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has taken cognisance of the matter and is looking into it, government sources told Moneycontrol. Competitor Snabbit has since confirmed it signed a mutual Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with robotics data startup Human Archive over similar discussions, suggesting the practice extends beyond Pronto. What the investor memo revealed: An internal memo from Glade Brook Capital, one of Pronto's investors, states that the company is "seeking to formalise India's vast informal labor markets and, in the process generate data to help train physical AI and robotics." It further says that Pronto is already "piloting real-world training data with leading physical AI labs" and is "developing a data business leveraging its workforce to capture real-world household data for robotics labs." The memo adds that early partnership interest has been "encouraging" and that the company is "moving quickly to commercialize the strategy." The memo was first reported by Entrackr. "There was no pilot, no customer-home rollout, no operational deployment, and no transfer of customer-home footage or service data," Snabbit told Entrackr. The existence of a signed NDA suggests the discussions had moved beyond casual conversations into areas involving confidential commercial or technical information, despite both companies describing the engagement as exploratory. Neither answered questions about what data, if any, was generated during the assessment. What Human Archive's Raj Patel claimed: Human Archive co-founder Raj Patel posted on X claiming Urban Company would be "forced to change your mind soon or Urban Company will no longer exist" as competitors offering subsidised-for-recording services grow. "Everyone told us to fuck off. So we did it ourselves," Patel said, referring to home services companies that declined Human Archive's approach. Human Archive is a US-based, YC-backed robotics data startup that collects human behaviour datasets for training AI systems. What Urban Company said: Urban Company co-founder and CEO Abhiraj Singh Bhal posted on X: "In light of recent reports regarding recordings inside customers' homes by one of our competitors, many people have asked whether @urbancompany_UC engages in anything similar, or intends to do so in the future. The answer is clear and unequivocal: we do not. We are in the business of trust, and we take customer trust and privacy extremely seriously. We do not engage in any such activities, have never done so in the past, and have no plans to do so in the future. Our customers' privacy is paramount to us, and we remain fully committed to upholding the highest standards of confidentiality, safety, and trust." The account restriction allegation: Aditi Shrivastava, co-founder of The Arc and former Stellaris VP, alleged that Pronto restricted her account after she raised privacy concerns. A screenshot she posted showed the message: "Your account is restricted, please reach out to [email protected]." Her response: "Dear Pronto. Nothing says 'we respect privacy concerns' like restricting accounts raising them... Well done." Shrivastava had earlier called the practice "scary" and said she was "suddenly feeling relieved that Pronto cancelled my booking last min." What is Pronto: Pronto sends trained, background-verified workers to customers' homes for everyday chores: mopping, utensil cleaning, laundry, and cooking assistance, promising dispatch within 10 minutes. The startup was founded in April 2025 by Anjali Sardana. What is physical AI: Physical AI refers to AI systems built to operate in the real world: robots that fold laundry, wash dishes, or navigate kitchens. Large language models like ChatGPT learned from text scraped off the internet. Physical AI cannot learn from text. It needs first-person video of real people performing real tasks in real environments: hands washing dishes, arms folding clothes, and bodies moving through actual homes. That data does not exist at scale on the internet. Labs must physically collect it inside real homes. A home services startup whose workers already enter thousands of homes to perform exactly these tasks is therefore extraordinarily valuable to physical AI labs. Pronto gives labs something no synthetic dataset can replicate: legitimate, recurring access to the inside of people's homes at scale.

Pronto Faces Privacy Backlash Over Alleged AI Training Inside Homes

Home services startup Pronto has landed in controversy after reports claimed the company may be using footage recorded inside customer homes to train physical AI and robotics systems. The allegations emerged after investor documents reviewed by media platform Entrackr reportedly revealed that the company aims to formalize India's informal labor market while also generating data to train 'physical AI and robotics'. The documents further claimed Pronto had already started 'piloting real-world training data with leading physical AI labs'. The report triggered immediate concern online, with users questioning how and in-home recordings were being handled.

Pronto could be using your house to train AI: Here's how consumers and competitors reacted

Seeing the situation, rival Urban Company CEO publicly denies any recording inside customer homes. If you have been working with AI tools, I'm sure you're aware of the basics of how they work. These tools work best when they have enough datasets to draw on, and as a result, companies that are heavily leaning into AI are now actively training their AI models. A few weeks back, we saw DoorDash using its delivery partners to try training AI data by letting them complete tasks. Now, it looks like Indian companies are also following in the same footsteps, as recently, an Indian-based startup, Pronto, has been accused of using training AI via their services. A report has raised serious concerns about the home services startup potentially using footage collected inside customers' homes to train physical AI systems. Ever since the report got out, the backlash towards the company on the platform has been swift. Heck, even the rival Urban Company's founder had to distance his platform from any such malpractices publicly. Let's take a look at what's going on. Also Read: This company's delivery drivers are being paid to help train AI, here's how According to a report by Entrackr, the Pronto may have quietly been building something far greater on the side, which is much different from the usual home services they offer. This comes after the investor documents of the company were reviewed by Entrackr. In an internal memo, Glade Brook Capital states that "Pronto is seeking to formalise India's vast informal labour markets and in the process generate data to help train physical AI and robotics", adding that the company also stated that they are already "piloting real-world training data with leading physical AI labs". After the issue got a bit more widespread, the company acknowledged the issue and released a statement on their X handle saying, "Unless you have opted in and paid for the program personally, the Pro doesn't come to the house with a camera." Further stating, "By default, there is no camera involved, and when there is, it's impossible to miss. The pilot reaches 0.1% of customers and we spent months to ensure full DPDP compliance. And we are not the only company in the space doing this". After the report was released, it triggered immediate concern among users, with many questioning whether other home services platforms operate similarly. The response is understandable given that having a camera inside your home raises real questions about consent, governance, and privacy. An X user, @AditiS90, shared her concern, asking the company for a response. While the company did give out a response, later on, they also restricted her Pronto account. As per the user, the account was working fine before; it got restricted after the tweet started going viral. Pronto isn't the only company that is currently serving the home service market. A popular competitor includes the likes of Urban Company, which does compete in the same market. Seeing the outrage, the Urban Company co-founder and CEO, Abhiraj Singh Bhal, moved quickly to address the concerns related to the services they offer. In a post on X today, he stated that Urban Company does not engage in any such recording activities, has never done so, and has no plans to do so. "We are in the business of trust," he wrote, adding that customer privacy is "paramount" and that the company remains committed to "the highest standards of confidentiality, safety, and trust".