Leading AI labs like OpenAI and Google DeepMind cut ties with Scale AI after Meta invested $14 billion in the data vendor and hired its CEO. But AI labs still need data — leaving an opening for other startups that can supply it.
The key players and factors in the AI data market are changing. Lately, it seems like Mercor — an AI hiring platform that sells data services to AI labs — may be one of the biggest benefactors of this shift.
Today on Equity, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and I (Max Zeff) dive deeper into how the AI data market is changing.
Mercor, which was co-founded less than three years ago, seems to be entertaining offers from investors for a Series C at a $10 billion valuatio , TechCrunch’s Marina Temkin reported earlier this week. The offers are rolling in, some of which Mercor says it’s declined, just seven months after it announced a Series B investment at a $2 billion valuation.
Mercor has told investors that it’s on track to hit $500 million in ARR faster than Anysphere, the startup behind Cursor, which famously hit the milestone roughly a year after launching its core product.
Surge, another competitor to Scale AI that’s larger than Mercor, seems to be the current frontrunner in the AI data race. Surge reportedly crossed $1 billion in revenue in 2024 with no VC backing — and now it’s in talks with investors to raise at a $25 billion valuatio .
But Mercor’s fast growth may be threatening to Surge, Scale AI, and every startup trying to sell data to AI labs.
Beyond the traditional data labeling service that put Scale AI on the map, Mercor also offers products to help AI labs generate training environments for AI agents. These environments are quickly becoming the next battleground for AI data startups.
Listen to the full episode to hear about:
- Bending Spoons’ acquisition of Vimeo for $1.38 billio , and what it means for the video industry.
- Why SpaceX is making a $17 billion bet on the direct-to-cell market, and what it all has to do with Apple.
- The long-awaited IPO of Klarna, why it popped, and how other newly public companies like Figma and CoreWeave are doing.
- Mercor’s new fundraising talks, and what’s going on the AI data space more broadly.
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Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us o Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.