Mercor Stock: Scaling the Human Layer of AI
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Table of Contents
Notable Mercor News
10/27/2025: AI startup Mercor now valued at $10 billion
02/20/2025: Mercor raises $100M at $2B valuation
02/20/2025: Announcing Mercor’s Series B
09/19/2024: Mercor Raises $30M Series A at a $250M Valuation
About Mercor
Mercor is an AI-powered talent marketplace connecting experts — engineers, doctors, lawyers, and financiers — with AI labs that need human expertise to train the next models.
It was founded in 2023 by three Bay Area high school debate teammates, Brendan Foody, Adarsh Hiremath, and Surya Midha, who dropped out of college and received a Thiel Fellowship award to pursue the venture.
What began as a tool to help startups hire offshore engineers pivoted when Scale AI reached out for specialized coders to generate AI training data.
The startup uses AI to conduct automated candidate interviews, then places vetted contractors with clients who pay hourly finder’s fees (similar to a staffing agency). This model grew from $1M monthly revenue to a $500M annualize run rate in less than two years.
In a crowded field alongside Scale AI, Turing, and Invisible Technologies, Mercor differentiates by placing high-credential talent rather than competing on cheap, high-volume data labeling.
With AI labs burning through public training data and increasingly dependent on specialized human feedback, companies like Mercor are becoming a component of the AI infrastructure stack.
Ownership
Mercor is a venture-backed startup owned by its founders, employees, and multiple venture capital firms.
Notable venture capital firm investors include DST Global, General Catalyst, 2.12 Angels, Link Ventures, Soma Capital, Menlo Ventures, Anthology Fund, Felicis Ventures, Benchmark Capital, and Robinhood Ventures.
Individual investors include Adam D’Angelo, Jack Dorsey, Peter Thiel, Larry Summers, Chris Re, Victor Lazarte, Bill Gurley, and Scott Sandell.
Funding Rounds
| Round | Date | Est. Valuation | Raise Amount | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series C | 10/26/25 | $10.00B | $350.0M | $713.77 |
| Series B | 02/19/25 | $2.00B | $100.0M | $156.41 |
| Series A | 09/18/24 | $250.0M | $30.0M | $20.62 |
| Seed | 01/14/24 | NA | $3.6M | NA |
| Source: Caplight |
Valuation
The latest confirmed Mercor valuation is $10 billion based on the Series C funding round that closed in October 2025.
IPO Potential
Despite impressive growth since its founding, Mercor is a relatively young company.
That said, its explosive growth, riding the wave of AI by becoming a necessary component of the frontier modeling ecosystem, could accelerate its path to an IPO.
As of early 2026, public market investors are craving AI-native companies. Yet, few are available for public investment.
Instead, institutional investors are looking to the private startup world for investments.
But as the public appetite for AI continues to grow, and AI leaders like Anthropic and OpenAI consider entering the markets to fund their growth, newer startups like Mercor may be tempted to go public as well.
However, with intense private demand and large companies eager for AI-native leaders, a Scale AI-like pseudo-acquisition is a possible outcome.
An S-1 filing is the most accurate sign that an IPO may be forthcoming. The intent to move forward with an IPO is usually leaked to the press long before the S-1 filing becomes available to the public.
How to Invest in Mercor Stock
Mercor is a venture-backed startup that will eventually seek an exit via an IPO (my preference) or an acquisition.
Until then, investors can monitor pre-IPO marketplaces for available shares. Mercor stock is also available to retail investors through an innovative product launched in 2026.
1. Invest Pre-IPO
Pre-IPO investment platforms may offer Mercor stock for purchase as employees or early investors seek to sell some of their shares before the Mercor IPO.
Accredited investors may access shares, provided they are registered on the platform and receive notifications about their availability.
Monitor pre-IPO investing platforms such as Hiive, Augment, Forge Global, and EquityZen for investment opportunities.
If shares become available, expect to pay at least a $10,000 investment minimum, often more.
Non-accredited investors can invest in pre-IPO companies via public venture capital funds available to retail investors.
The Robinhood Ventures I Fund (RVI) holds an investment stake in Mercor as of the fund’s launch in February 2026. Invest via Robinhood or another online broker.
2. Participate in the Mercor IPO through a broker
When the company eventually goes public, ordinary investors may get a chance to buy the stock during the IPO at the IPO price.
This trend is providing retail investors with greater IPO access each year.
In Mercor’s case, it has already welcomed retail investors through Robinhood’s RVI fund, and would likely partner with the broker in an IPO to distribute shares.
Additional online brokers (listed below) allow investors to invest in IPOs for free, even if they have limited funds in their accounts.
TradeStation has a more established track record of accessing more than 450 IPOs and secondary offerings via its partnership with Click Markets.
Robinhood has the advantage of Silicon Valley networks and a history of getting allocations for high-profile IPOs.
Check out this list of the best brokers for IPO investing to learn more about IPO access for retail investors.
3. Buy Mercor stock after the IPO
Most retail investors won’t get a shot at Mercor stock until it hits the public markets, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Waiting means you get to see real quarterly financials before committing capital, rather than betting on projections alone.
Pre-IPO investors often work with limited disclosure, while public market investors get the fuller picture.
High-demand IPOs frequently launch at stretched valuations, and early enthusiasm can push prices well beyond what the fundamentals support.
The smart play is recognizing that the first and second earnings reports after an IPO often bring a reality check, and the price drop that follows can be a far better entry point than day one.
Lockup expirations, when insiders are finally allowed to sell, add another layer of downward pressure worth watching.
That said, the most genuinely disruptive companies tend to reward patient investors who look past the early noise and hold for the long run.
Conclusion
Mercor is not a typical startup story. Three college “dropouts” (Thiel Fellows) built a billion-dollar business in under two years by identifying something the AI industry desperately needed but hadn’t yet organized around: high-credential human expertise at scale.
That alone tells you something meaningful about where the real bottlenecks in AI development actually sit, and why talent infrastructure may ultimately prove as valuable as the models themselves.
For investors, the more relevant question isn’t whether Mercor will go public, but whether its current private valuation already prices in the growth that public market buyers typically get excited about.
The pre-IPO window, for those with access, carries potential upside, but also the kind of concentration risk that most retail investors should think hard about before committing capital.
Investors interested in Mercor stock can access indirect equity through public venture funds and anticipate a forthcoming Mercor IPO by investing with brokerages that offer IPO access with low minimums.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Craig Stephens founded Access IPOs in 2016 to help ordinary investors explore IPO and pre-IPO opportunities. He also manages the Access Club, a membership community for IPO and startup investors. Craig studied Finance at Michigan State University and lives in Northern Virginia. Learn more about Craig.
* This is a testimonial in partnership with Fundrise, Hiive, TradeStation, Robinhood, Moomoo, Webull, and other affiliate partners. We earn a commission from partner links on AccessIPOs.com. All opinions are my own. If you sign up with one of our partners through certain on this website, Access IPOs will be compensated at no additional cost to the reader. See the full disclosure here. Risk Statement: Access IPOs is for informational purposes only and does not recommend buying or selling any specific pre-IPO company, IPO, or public company. Investing in IPOs and pre-IPO startups involves significant risk. Do not invest in companies based solely on what is included in this article. Only invest in IPOs and pre-IPO companies with money you can afford to lose. Mentions of specific investments should not be construed as financial advice. Conduct personalized research and consider consulting with an investment advisor before investing. Disclosure: The author may hold an active or pending position in this company either directly or indirectly through an investment fund.
