Mercor Raises $350M at $10B Valuation
Mercor raised $350 million at a $10 billion valuation to expand its platform that connects AI labs with domain experts for model training, now paying over $1.5 million daily to more than 30,000 contractors.
Mercor has raised $350 million in Series C funding at a $10 billion valuation, quintupling its $2 billion valuation from its Series B just months ago. Felicis Ventures led the round, with participation from Benchmark, General Catalyst, and new investor Robinhood Ventures.
The company connects AI labs with domain experts—scientists, doctors, lawyers—to train foundational models, charging hourly finder's fees. Mercor currently pays over $1.5 million daily to more than 30,000 contractors who earn an average of $85 per hour.
The startup has benefited from AI labs reportedly cutting ties with data-labeling competitor Scale AI after Meta's $14 billion investment in the company. Mercor told investors it's on track to hit $500 million in annual recurring revenue faster than Cursor's developer Anysphere achieved the milestone.
The company plans to expand its talent network, improve contractor-client matching systems, and build products to automate more of its processes.
Ellie Ramirez-Camara is the News Editor at Data Phoenix, where she writes the daily AI newsdesk — covering model releases, research, funding rounds, and policy across the AI and machine-learning industry. She tracks announcements from labs and startups alike and distills them into clear, source-linked reporting for practitioners.
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