Mercor
| Company type | Private startup |
|---|---|
| Industry | Artificial intelligence |
| Founded | 2023 |
| Founder | Brendan Foody, Adarsh Hiremath, Surya Midha |
| Headquarters | San Francisco , United States |
Key people | Brendan Foody (CEO), Adarsh Hiremath (CTO), Surya Midha (Chairman), Sundeep Jain (President) |
| Products | AI model and chatbot development services, data annotation services |
Number of employees | 30000 (2025) |
Mercor is a U.S.-based artificial intelligence (AI) startup specializing in providing skilled professionals to develop AI models and chatbots. Established in 2023 and operating out of San Francisco, its trio of founders achieved the distinction of becoming the youngest self-made billionaires by 2025.
History
The company was launched by Brendan Foody, Adarsh Hiremath, and Surya Midha, three friends from the Bay Area who left college to dedicate themselves fully to the venture, each receiving a Thiel Fellowship. Initially, Mercor's platform facilitated connections between freelance developers in India and American businesses by conducting AI-driven candidate interviews and matching. Brendan Foody acts as CEO, Adarsh Hiremath holds the CTO position, and Surya Midha serves as chairman of the board. Subsequently, Mercor shifted focus towards data annotation services, pairing specialized contractors with AI organizations such as OpenAI to assist in algorithm training. All three founders were recognized on the Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2025.
In May 2025, Mercor appointed Sundeep Jain, formerly chief product officer at Uber, as its president.
By October 2025, Bloomberg included Mercor in its "24 AI Startups to Watch in 2026" list under the Foundation Builders category. During the same month, the company secured $350 million through a Series C funding round at a valuation of $10 billion, elevating its three founders—then aged 22—to the status of youngest self-made billionaires.
Business
Mercor recruits specialists—including engineers, attorneys, medical professionals, financial experts, and journalists—to support the training of AI models and chatbots. Its clientele features prominent names like OpenAI and Anthropic. As of October 2025, Mercor oversaw a workforce of 30,000 contractors and had completed a $350 million funding round that valued the enterprise at $10 billion.