Find AI datasets+Order premium data annotation
Sama and Dataset Finder both say they don't rely on an open crowd: Sama employs a full-time workforce in East Africa, and Dataset Finder's custom data comes from annotators managed by Innovatiana in Madagascar. The difference is where you start and how you buy. Sama annotates and validates the data you already have, by quote. Dataset Finder helps you find an existing dataset first, then lets you order the rest with credits.
Facts about Sama come from its own website and other public sources (see sources).
Sama produces data for you, and so does Dataset Finder. The difference is the step before: Dataset Finder first shows you which existing datasets already fit, then you order premium annotation for the gaps.
Describe your use case in plain language and get a ranked shortlist from tens of thousands of curated datasets.
When nothing fits, order custom annotation in the same app. Your data is labelled by trained annotators and domain specialists managed by Innovatiana, not an open crowd.
Both live in one workspace: what you found, what you ordered and which model it trained are recorded per project.
| Criterion | Dataset FinderFind + annotate | Sama |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | One place to find and order AI training data: dataset search over a curated catalogue, dataset cards with automated analysis, premium data annotation and labelling services, and a project workspace | Managed data-annotation and model-validation company, delivering on its own Sama Platform |
| Where you start | Search what already exists: natural-language search across tens of thousands of curated datasets (metadata only; you download from the source) | Annotate, validate and evaluate your own data: image, video, 3D sensor data, GenAI outputs |
| Who does the labelling | Trained annotators and domain specialists managed by Innovatiana, not an open crowd, with a dedicated Data Labeling Manager | Full-time, in-house workforce in secure delivery centres, largest in East Africa (Sama says) |
| Pricing | Free €0 · Startup €9.90/mo · Pro €29.90/mo (or €99 / €299 a year). Custom data paid in credits, no set-up fee | Not published; quote-based |
| Data types | Image, video, audio, text, multimodal and medical data; 3D point clouds; LLM fine-tuning, agent and coding data | Image, video, 3D point cloud / LiDAR / radar, text, multimodal |
| Company | Built by Innovatiana, a data-labelling company with its own trained annotation teams | San Francisco and East Africa · founded 2008 by Leila Janah |
| Built for | AI teams that want to check what already exists before paying for data, then order the gaps self-serve | Enterprises in automotive, retail, agriculture and GenAI that want a managed, on-site workforce for high-volume work |
Dataset Finder starts with a curated catalogue of existing datasets and full dataset cards. Sama's stated offer is annotating, validating and evaluating the customer's own data.
Dataset Finder publishes its plans (€0, €9.90 and €29.90 a month) and prices custom data in credits you buy in the app. Sama's pricing is quote-based.
Dataset Finder's custom data projects run under NDAs, with restricted access, secure transfer and a record of who annotated what: a practice built around GDPR and EU AI Act readiness.
Dataset Finder keeps your projects, AI recipes and a training-data inventory with lineage in the same place you search and order.
Talk to Enterprise Sales. Innovatiana scopes high-volume and long-running annotation programmes, with custom SLAs and NDAs, delivered by the same managed teams under a dedicated Data Labeling Manager.
Yes. Dataset Finder covers dataset discovery and custom annotation by Innovatiana's managed team, ordered self-serve with credits or, for larger programmes, through Enterprise Sales.
Sama describes a full-time, in-house workforce. Dataset Finder's custom data is produced by trained annotators recruited and managed by Innovatiana, supervised by a dedicated Data Labeling Manager, not an open crowd.
No. Sama's site asks you to talk to an expert. Dataset Finder's plans are €0, €9.90 and €29.90 a month, and custom data is paid in credits with no set-up fee.
Yes. Alongside dataset search, Dataset Finder sells premium custom data annotation and labelling. Innovatiana's trained annotators and domain specialists, not an open crowd, produce and label the data, supervised by a dedicated Data Labeling Manager, with a calibration round, sampling reviews, inter-annotator agreement and gold-standard checks. It covers image, video, audio, text, multimodal and medical data, 3D point clouds, and LLM fine-tuning, agent and coding data. You order self-serve with credits, with no set-up fee, or through Enterprise Sales for larger projects.
No. Dataset Finder keeps each dataset's metadata and its own analysis, and sends you to the original source (Hugging Face, an academic page, a government portal) under that source's licence. The exception is custom data you order, which the team delivers to you directly.
Or read what makes Dataset Finder different.
This page compares public information as of 26 October 2026. Figures a company reports about itself are marked as such ("Sama says"). Sama is a trademark of its owner; this page is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sama. Spotted something out of date? Email sales@innovatiana.com.
Discover tens of thousands of curated AI datasets, order custom training data, and turn fragmented data pipelines into production-ready AI assets, all in one workspace.