As artificial intelligence reshapes global industries, Mercor is paying more than $1.5 million each day to human contractors teaching machines how to think — signaling a new frontier where people profit by training their AI replacements.
Mercor's $10 Billion Valuation Marks A New Era In Human-AI Collaboration
On Monday, Mercor CEO and cofounder Brendan Foody revealed that the startup, which connects human experts with AI firms such as OpenAI and Anthropic, is now spending over $1.5 million daily on contractors who train large language models.
"The company has been growing like crazy," Foody said during an appearance on The TBPN Show after announcing a new funding round that valued Mercor at $10 billion.
In a blog post, Foody described human-led AI instruction as a "new category of work," writing, "Millions of people will spend the next decade teaching machines the judgment, nuance, and taste that only humans possess.”
“Instead of doing predictable work repeatedly, they'll teach agents how to do it once, so the agent can do it a million times," he added.
Over 30,000 Contractors Power Mercor's AI Training Workforce
Mercor said it now employs more than 30,000 contractors across industries, including law, medicine, finance, and software engineering.
Foody added that an IPO may be on the horizon, though no date has been set.
AI Boom: O'Leary, Wall Street And OpenAI Signal Trillions In Growth
Earlier this month, Billionaire investor Kevin O'Leary said AI had become one of the smartest investments for small businesses, calling AI-powered customer service bots a "competitive weapon" for growth.
He noted that lower costs now let entrepreneurs use tools like ChatGPT for as little as $125 a month.
Meanwhile, Wall Street analysts from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), and Wedbush Securities Inc. said the AI boom was sustainable, with potential to unlock up to $8 trillion in value.
They predicted continued spending growth and strong demand for Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) chips, signaling the rally was far from over.
OpenAI added that a $1 trillion AI infrastructure investment could lift U.S. GDP by over 5% and spark a new wave of reindustrialization.
Together, business leaders and analysts agreed the AI revolution is still in its early days, with vast economic gains ahead.
Read Next:
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock
