Mercor
AI expert-hiring marketplace that matches domain specialists to the labs training frontier AI models.
Overview
Mercor is a human-data and expert-hiring marketplace that connects AI labs with vetted domain experts (scientists, doctors, lawyers, coders) who evaluate and train frontier models, charging matching and hourly fees. It began as an AI-driven recruiting platform before pivoting to become a leading supplier of specialized human labor for model training. In October 2025 it raised a $350M Series C led by Felicis at a $10B valuation, making its three under-23 co-founders among the youngest self-made billionaires.
Pricing
Pricing shown for reference only. These figures reflect RECATOOLS research as of 12 Sep 2026 and may be out of date or incomplete. This is not financial or purchasing advice — always confirm the current price on the provider’s official website before making any decision.
- Sales-led engagement, no public pricing or self-serve signup
- Hourly cost-plus rate — expert time plus Mercor's margin
- Matching and vetting of scientists, doctors, lawyers, engineers
- Contracted per project/domain with an NDA and managed workforce
- Apply, complete AI screening, get matched to lab projects
- Typical rates ~$20-150/hr by domain and seniority
- Medical experts and senior engineers at the top of the range
- Flexible contract work; availability can be intermittent
What you can produce with Mercor
- Hire vetted domain experts — scientists, doctors, lawyers, coders — to evaluate and train models
- Reach specialist evaluators without building a recruiting pipeline
- Pay matching and hourly fees rather than retaining staff
- Use it as an AI lab that needs human data at frontier quality
- Read its signal for what it is: press, not product reviews — a $350M Series C at a $10B valuation in October 2025
- Ask for references from labs at your scale, since independent user experience is thin
What this is for: Sourcing and managing vetted domain experts to generate and evaluate the human data that trains and benchmarks frontier AI models.
Who this is for: AI research labs and model developers needing specialized human labor at scale, plus experts seeking paid model-training work.
Availability: Commercial marketplace; experts apply and are matched, labs contract on custom terms. No public self-serve pricing.
What people say
Mercor's loudest signal is press, not product reviews: its October 2025 $350M Series C at a $10B valuation and its three under-23 co-founders drew heavy coverage from TechCrunch, Forbes and others, and it's widely reported to supply expert human data to labs including OpenAI and Anthropic. Because there is no self-serve product to rate, there is no G2 or Capterra footprint — the review venue is the worker side, where Mercor has roughly 150+ Glassdoor reviews and a couple hundred Trustpilot ratings.
Contractor sentiment is mixed. Experts praise the pay — commonly $50-150/hr, with medical and senior-engineering roles at the top — but recurring complaints describe one-way AI interviews, offers that get "paused indefinitely," thin communication, and invasive time-tracking that wants camera, mic and browser access. Some critics allege the AI interviews harvest expertise; Mercor denies this and no independent audit exists.
For labs, the main caveat is opacity. There's no public pricing, just a cost-plus hourly model, and the business rests on managing its 30,000-plus contractors, not on software you can evaluate.
Summary of public user & expert reviews, compiled by RECATOOLS.
About this listing
This entry was compiled from publicly available data including Mercor's official website, press releases, documentation, and reputable third-party publications. RECATOOLS is not affiliated with Mercor unless explicitly stated.
Third-party AI tools update their pricing, features, availability, and policies frequently. Information here may be outdated by the time you read this — we make reasonable efforts to keep listings current, but cannot guarantee absolute accuracy.
For the latest details, please refer to Mercor directly →
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