Three visionary 22-year-old entrepreneurs have etched their names in history by becoming the world’s youngest self-made billionaires, remarkably surpassing Mark Zuckerberg’s long-held record. This dynamic trio is behind Mercor, a San Francisco-based artificial intelligence recruitment startup that recently achieved an astounding $10 billion valuation after a successful $350 million funding round led by Felicis Ventures. Mercor’s innovative platform seamlessly connects cutting-edge AI laboratories with a vast network of highly skilled human experts, meticulously refining machine learning models through crucial human-in-the-loop processes.
Chief Executive Brendan Foody, Chief Technology Officer Adarsh Hiremath, and Chairman Surya Midha each hold a significant 22 percent stake in the burgeoning company. Launched in 2021 while its founders were still pursuing their college degrees, Mercor has rapidly emerged as a dominant force in the human-in-the-loop AI landscape. Its expansive network now boasts over 30,000 contractors, collectively earning more than $1.5 million in payments daily, at an impressive average rate of $85 per hour.
From Debate Team Captains to Business Founders
The remarkable journey of these three co-founders began at Bellarmine College Preparatory School in San Jose, where they were integral members of the school’s nationally acclaimed debate team. Hiremath and Midha achieved a fifth-place national ranking in policy debate, while Foody and his debate partner secured an eighth-place national ranking. All three proudly served as captains of a team that consistently ranked among the nation’s top four for four consecutive years.
Both Hiremath and Midha proudly trace their roots to India. Midha, born in Mountain View, California, was raised in San Jose by parents who immigrated from New Delhi. They symbolize a fresh wave of Indian-American innovators leaving an indelible mark on Silicon Valley’s vibrant AI sector.
Academic Achievements and Early Career Choices
Adarsh Hiremath embarked on a challenging concurrent bachelor’s and master’s program in computer science at Harvard University, where he delved into advanced machine learning research and served as a research assistant to former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. His unwavering dedication to Mercor led him to leave Harvard during his sophomore year, even before the company had secured its initial funding.
Surya Midha, a salutatorian from Bellarmine in 2021, attended the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, specializing in international relations, mathematics, and economics. During his two years at Georgetown, he contributed to debate coaching, gained invaluable experience through an internship with the Brookings Institution, and worked as a research assistant in the Security Studies Programme. Brendan Foody also pursued economics at Georgetown. In January 2022, the trio co-founded Mercor and achieved early success by winning the Georgetown Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Challenge, securing a $10,000 prize.
The Thiel Fellowship and Mercor’s Rapid Evolution
In 2024, all three founders were honored with prestigious Thiel Fellowships, which award $100,000 grants to promising young entrepreneurs who choose to depart from traditional college education to launch innovative startups. Foody and Midha officially withdrew from Georgetown, while Hiremath had already made the decision to leave Harvard to commit fully to Mercor.
Mercor’s early strategy involved matching engineering teams with startups. However, the company strategically pivoted to develop a unified global labor marketplace. By 2023, Mercor had ingeniously leveraged AI to automate critical processes such as resume screening, candidate matching, interview coordination, and payroll management. Today, it proudly supplies highly specialized experts, including engineers, lawyers, and even doctors, to meticulously train and refine advanced AI systems.
Funding, Growth, and Global Reach
Mercor’s impressive trajectory includes an initial $3.6 million in seed funding, spearheaded by General Catalyst, followed by a substantial $30 million Series A round led by Benchmark. The company has attracted a roster of distinguished investors, including industry titans like Peter Thiel, Jack Dorsey, Adam D’Angelo, and Larry Summers. Throughout 2024, Mercor has experienced explosive growth, expanding by over 40 percent month-on-month, and now boasts a global workforce exceeding 300 employees. India remains its primary talent hub, closely followed by the US, with significant and rapid growth also observed across Europe and South America.
Remarkably, the startup operates without a traditional sales team, maintaining lean and efficient operations in both San Francisco and India. With its latest infusion of capital, Mercor is poised to further expand its expert network, enhance its sophisticated AI-matching systems, and significantly accelerate project delivery, cementing its position as a leader in the evolving AI landscape.