The technology industry has witnessed a groundbreaking achievement as three 22 year old entrepreneurs Brendan Foody, Adarsh Hiremath, and Surya Midha have become the world’s youngest self made billionaires after their artificial intelligence company Mercor raised $350 million in funding, pushing its valuation to $10 billion. This remarkable accomplishment surpasses Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg’s previous record, who achieved billionaire status at age 23 in 2008.
Each of Mercor’s three founders maintains approximately 22% ownership in the company, giving them individual net worths exceeding $2 billion. The trio were former debate teammates from San Mateo County who bonded at Aragon High School before pursuing separate college paths and later reuniting to build their startup. All three founders received the Thiel Fellowship, an elite program that offers $100,000 grants to students who leave college to build startups.
The Evolution of Mercor’s Business Model
Mercor started as a recruiting platform but strategically pivoted to supplying specialized human expertise from lawyers and doctors to engineers to train and fine tune artificial intelligence systems. The company now operates a global network of more than 30,000 professionals across engineering, medicine, law, and finance, with clients including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind.
Mercor reportedly pays more than $1.5 million daily to its network of human contractors worldwide, making it one of the largest employers in the AI training space. By mid 2024, Mercor had reached annualized revenues of $500 million, up from $100 million just months earlier.
Operational Efficiency and Market Position
The $350 million Series C funding round was led by Felicis Ventures, with participation from Benchmark, General Catalyst, and new investor Robinhood Ventures. The company operates with a lean team of approximately 30 employees, most of whom are in their early twenties.
A major boost came when Meta acquired Mercor’s main competitor Scale AI for $14.3 billion, causing several AI laboratories to turn to Mercor as an independent alternative. This positioning has strengthened Mercor’s role as critical infrastructure within the artificial intelligence ecosystem, suggesting sustained growth potential as AI continues expanding across industries worldwide.
Also Read: Koo Co-founder Mayank Bidawatka Launches PicSee, AI-Enabled Mutual Photo Exchange Platform
