Mercor has secured $350 million in fresh funding at a $10 billion valuation, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. Felicis Ventures led the latest round, with participation from Benchmark, General Catalyst, and Robinhood Ventures. The raise follows rapid investor interest, after Mercor reportedly received multiple offers while negotiating its Series C, just months after its valuation target jumped from $8 billion.
Originally launched as an AI-driven hiring platform, Mercor has pivoted into a fast-growing business that connects AI labs with domain experts — including doctors, scientists, and lawyers — who train foundational AI models. The company charges hourly matching and finder’s fees, and is expanding into reinforcement learning infrastructure to boost model accuracy through expert-verified feedback. Mercor’s long-term goal is to build a fully AI-powered recruiting marketplace.
The company’s rise accelerated after major AI labs like OpenAI and Google DeepMind reportedly cut ties with Scale AI, following Meta’s multibillion-dollar investment in the data vendor. Mercor told investors it is on pace to reach $500 million in annual recurring revenue faster than Anysphere, the company behind Cursor. The startup currently pays out more than $1.5 million daily to over 30,000 expert contractors, who earn an average of $85 per hour.
With its new capital, Mercor plans to expand its global talent network, improve its expert-to-client matching systems, and further automate its internal processes. In a statement, the company said AI still struggles with key human-level capabilities — such as understanding intent and making strategic decisions — and that expert-guided training will remain essential as AI continues to advance.