Mercor AI Valuation Jumps to $10 Billion Following $350 Million Series C Funding

San Francisco, CA – Mercor AI, a startup specializing in training artificial intelligence models, has achieved a staggering $10 billion valuation after successfully closing a $350 million Series C funding round. The significant investment, led by Felicis Ventures with participation from Benchmark, General Catalyst, and new investor Robinhood Ventures, marks a fivefold increase in the company's valuation since its last raise in February. The news garnered immediate attention, with Sarah Tavel, a prominent venture capitalist, commending the team, stating, "Remarkable progress and execution. Kudos to the @mercor_ai team, @BrendanFoody, @adarsh_exe, @suryamidha and so many more!!"

Founded in 2023 by Thiel Fellows Brendan Foody, Adarsh Hiremath, and Surya Midha, Mercor initially focused on AI-powered recruiting. The company quickly pivoted its business model to address the burgeoning demand for human expertise in refining and training advanced AI models. This strategic shift positioned Mercor to become a critical component in the AI ecosystem, connecting domain experts from various fields with leading AI labs like OpenAI and Anthropic.

Mercor's rapid ascent was significantly boosted by a shift in the competitive landscape. Following Meta's substantial investment in rival Scale AI, several major AI laboratories reportedly sought alternative providers for their AI model training needs due to concerns over neutrality. Mercor co-founder Adarsh Hiremath noted to Forbes, "It just doesn't happen too often in startups where your biggest competitor gets torpedoed overnight," highlighting the market opportunity Mercor effectively seized.

The newly secured capital will be allocated across three key strategic areas: expanding Mercor's global talent network, enhancing its sophisticated matching systems that connect experts with training opportunities, and accelerating project delivery speeds. The company currently manages over 30,000 contractors globally, who collectively receive over $1.5 million in daily payouts for their specialized work in data labeling and providing expert feedback to AI systems.

This substantial funding round underscores the increasing value placed on human-in-the-loop AI training, where specialized human judgment is deemed essential for developing accurate and nuanced AI models. Mercor's success reflects a broader industry trend where the "data labor economy" is becoming as crucial as computational power in advancing artificial intelligence capabilities.