Overview
- Mercor closed a $350 million Series C led by Felicis Ventures, with participation from Benchmark, General Catalyst and new investor Robinhood Ventures.
- The company now focuses on connecting AI labs with vetted domain experts for specialized training tasks, pivoting from an AI hiring product and charging hourly matching fees.
- Mercor reports a network of more than 30,000 experts and says it pays contractors over $1.5 million per day at an average rate above $85 per hour.
- Growth has been aided by reports that OpenAI and Google DeepMind moved away from Scale AI after Meta’s large investment and leadership changes at the data-labeling firm.
- The company says the funding will expand its talent pool, improve matching systems and speed delivery, with plans to build an AI-powered recruiting marketplace and a reported trajectory toward $500 million in ARR.