Mercor, a platform that links AI research labs with industry specialists to help train their core AI models, has secured $350 million in funding, bringing its valuation to $10 billion, the company told TechCrunch.
Felicis Ventures, which previously led Mercor’s $100 million Series B round at a $2 billion valuation, is heading this new investment as well. Other participants include returning backers Benchmark and General Catalyst, along with newcomer Robinhood Ventures.
Back in September, TechCrunch revealed that Mercor was negotiating with investors for a Series C round at a $10 billion valuation, which was an increase from its earlier $8 billion goal. At that stage, the company informed prospective investors that it had already received several offers.
Mercor originally launched as an AI-powered recruitment platform but soon shifted its focus to supplying businesses with domain-specific professionals—such as doctors, scientists, and legal experts—to train AI models, charging hourly fees for matching and placement.
The company has also been enhancing its software tools to support reinforcement learning, a training approach where an agent’s choices are validated or challenged, allowing it to learn from feedback and improve performance. Mercor’s long-term goal is to develop a recruitment marketplace powered by AI.
Mercor’s business saw significant growth after major AI labs like OpenAI and Google DeepMind reportedly ended their partnerships with Scale AI, following Meta’s $14 billion investment in the data provider and its hiring of Scale AI’s CEO.
Reportedly, Mercor told investors it is on pace to reach $500 million in annual recurring revenue faster than Anysphere, the company behind Cursor, which achieved that milestone about a year after its flagship product launch.
“Since launching Mercor nearly three years ago, we’ve witnessed rapid progress in AI. Yet, AI still faces challenges with the nuances that make work valuable—such as weighing trade-offs, grasping intent, cultivating discernment, and determining what should be done rather than just what’s possible,” the company shared in a blog post sent to TechCrunch.
The startup claims it currently pays its contractors over $1.5 million daily. Its network includes more than 30,000 specialists, who earn an average of $85 per hour.
Mercor stated that its priorities are to grow its talent pool, enhance its contractor-client matching systems, and develop new tools to further automate its operations.
