Marketplace matching AI labs with pre-vetted domain experts for RLHF, data labeling, and model training
AI📍 San Francisco, CAFounded 2023
Current Valuation
$10B
as of 2025-Q4
DECACORN
Mercor is a marketplace that connects frontier AI labs including OpenAI and Meta with pre-vetted domain experts for reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF), data labeling, and foundation-model training. Founded by Thiel Fellows Brendan Foody, Adarsh Hiremath, and Surya Midha, the company quintupled its valuation in eight months, closing a $350M Series C led by Felicis at a $10B valuation in October 2025 with Benchmark, General Catalyst, and Robinhood Ventures participating. Mercor reached an ~$450M ARR run-rate by September 2025 and is reported by Sacra to have hit $1B revenue in 2026.
Company Profile
CEO
Brendan Foody
Founded
2023
HQ
San Francisco, CA
Est. Revenue
$1.0B (2026)
Growth
+897% YoY revenue growth; ARR reached ~$450M run-rate in Sept 2025 and $1B by 2026
Last Round
Series C — $350M (Oct 2025) · Lead: Felicis
IPO Status
private
Fundraising Status
Series C · $350M · 10 mo ago
private
Secondary Market
Implied price / share
$746.62
Last round price / share
$713.77
vs last round
+4.6%
Open interest
6
Last round price vs secondary price
Secondary price return by period
Implied per-share price from private secondary transactions, as of Jun 2026. This is a point estimate, not a quote — the feed carries no bid, ask or spread, and a secondary print is evidence of what someone paid on that date rather than a live market. Compare across every tracked name →
Latest Funding Round
Round
Amount
Date
Lead Investor
Post-Money
Series C
$350M
Oct 2025
Felicis
—
Founders & Key People
Brendan FoodyAdarsh HiremathSurya Midha
Investors
Felicis · Benchmark · General Catalyst · Robinhood Ventures · Thrive Capital · Peter Thiel (via Thiel Fellowship)
Products
Mercor expert marketplace (RLHF + domain-expert hiring for AI labs)
Mercor concierge sourcing for OpenAI, Meta, and other frontier labs
Pre-vetted contractor network for data labeling and model evaluation
Competitors
Scale AI · Surge AI · Snorkel AI · Toloka · Invisible Technologies · Turing
AIData LabelingGig MarketplaceRLHFThiel FellowsAI Training
Private-company numbers are not real-time. Reflects publicly disclosed valuations from press releases, news reports, and tender offers as of 2025-Q4. Refreshed quarterly.