The problem
AI labs need doctors, lawyers and engineers on demand to create and grade training data at scale
What they do
Marketplace supplying vetted domain experts and RL environments to AI labs for model training
Traction $2B+ gross revenue run rate (Jun 2026), doubled in four months; net ~$600-800M
Hiring trend
- Open roles
- 112
- Ops roles
- 4
- Headcount
- ~400
Est. ~200 staff (May 2026) → ~400 FTE; 109 open roles, mostly SF on-site
Hiring in
- San Francisco
- New York
- Mercor
- Remote (Mexico)
Glassdoor
4.2 ★ 197 reviews ↗Funding
- Last round
- $350M
- Stage
- Series C
- Date
- Oct 2025
Led by Felicis
- Hiring+2112 open roles on the live job board (30+ roles = +2)
- Funding recency+1.5Series C · $350M, Oct 2025 (12 months ago): 6–12 months = +1, $100M+ round +0.5
- Traction+1.5Strong growth: $2B+ gross revenue run rate (Jun 2026), doubled in four months; net ~$600-800M
- Red flags−11 significant flag in the last 24 months, −1 eachMar 2026 data breach (up to 4TB exposed) led Meta to pause work and at least 7 proposed class actions; Scale AI trade-secrets suit (Sep 2025); contractors disputing retroactively cut hours (Oct 2026). Watch (not scored): cut at least 50 full-time staff by email in early Oct 2026; CEO says it was not a layoff and Mercor is still hiring.The Next Web, Jul 2026 (breach, Meta pause, class actions) ↗ · CourtDocket, Sep 2026 (7 class actions, Scale AI suit) ↗ · The Inference, Oct 2026 (contractor hours dispute) ↗ · The Inference: Mercor cut at least 50 staff (Oct 2026) ↗
- Total4.02 + 1.5 + 1.5 − 1 = 4.0 → Tempo (3.5–4.24)
Distance (Half) is a separate read on how long the lead can last. It doesn't change the score.
Distance
Half · edge: grows with users
$2B+ run rate puts it among the top expert-data suppliers; a few labs drive 91% of revenue.
Sources: Occludo: Mercor H1 2026 revenue concentration (Aug 2026) ↗ · HeroHunt: Mercor vs Surge vs Scale AI buyer guide (Sep 2026) ↗
Watch-outs
Mar 2026 data breach (up to 4TB exposed) led Meta to pause work and at least 7 proposed class actions; Scale AI trade-secrets suit (Sep 2025); contractors disputing retroactively cut hours (Oct 2026). Watch (not scored): cut at least 50 full-time staff by email in early Oct 2026; CEO says it was not a layoff and Mercor is still hiring.
Sources: The Next Web, Jul 2026 (breach, Meta pause, class actions) ↗ · CourtDocket, Sep 2026 (7 class actions, Scale AI suit) ↗ · The Inference, Oct 2026 (contractor hours dispute) ↗ · The Inference: Mercor cut at least 50 staff (Oct 2026) ↗
Last checked Oct 25, 2026