AI-powered hiring platform startup Mercor raises $30M in Series A funding led by Benchmark

The traditional hiring process is broken, slow, and often skewed by bias. Now, a trio of 21-year-old Thiel Fellows are transforming the system, tackling these long-standing issues head-on to create a more efficient and fair hiring experience using artificial intelligence (AI).

Adarsh Hiremath, Brendan Foody, and Surya Midha are the founders of Mercor, a jobs marketplace startup that uses AI to completely transform the hiring process and change how companies find talent.

Mercor’s platform relies on advanced algorithms to sift through countless profiles, conduct personalized interviews, and match candidates with the right job opportunities, aiming to cut down on the bias and inefficiencies that plague traditional hiring methods.

In just a year, Mercor’s AI-driven interview tool has already screened 300,000 candidates. Now, their 20-month-old startup has reached a $250 million valuation after securing $32 million in a Series A round, led by Benchmark. Benchmark’s new partner, Victor Lazarte, has joined Mercor’s board as part of the deal.

High-profile investors, including Peter Thiel, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, and OpenAI board members Adam D’Angelo (Quora CEO) and Larry Summers (former Treasury Secretary), have also backed the company.

“Their 20-month-old startup is now valued at $250 million, following a $32 million Series A led by Benchmark and the firm’s newest partner Victor Lazarte, who has joined Mercor’s board. Billionaire investor Peter Thiel, Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey and two OpenAI board directors, Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, also personally invested,” Forbes reported.

This round of funding follows a $3.6 million raise in January, which helped the company launch its fully automated platform. General Catalyst led that earlier round, with participation from investors like Scott Sandell (Chairman and CEO of NEA), Soma Capital, Link Ventures, and 2 | Twelve Angels.

“We were struck by how many talented people across the globe aren’t being recognized,” Mercor CEO Foody told Forbes in an interview. “By applying large language models to streamline talent assessment, we’re addressing that gap.”

Founded in January 2023 by Foody (CEO), Hiremath (CTO), and Midha (COO), Mercor initially bootstrapped itself to seven-figure annual revenue and a talent pool of 100,000 users across 25 countries, all while operating out of their dorm rooms at Harvard and Georgetown.

What began as a manual service to match temporary talent has evolved into a sophisticated marketplace powered by Mercor’s proprietary language model. Built on the latest tools from companies like OpenAI, this model is fine-tuned to handle the job-matching process with precision.

Candidates join the platform by uploading their resumes and completing a 20-minute video interview with Mercor’s AI. Half the interview focuses on the candidate’s experience, while the other half involves responding to a case study. The AI then matches the application with relevant job openings. For specialized positions, a follow-up interview may be conducted using a more targeted AI approach.

Mercor offers employers a fast way to find qualified talent who can adapt to various work arrangements, from hourly contracts to full-time roles. The platform’s largest talent pool is in India, though the U.S. isn’t far behind. Mercor serves roles across multiple fields, including engineering, product development, design, operations, and content. Some leading AI labs have even used Mercor to find professional writers and videographers to generate data. Foody also mentioned other employers from sectors like consulting, finance, law, and engineering.

Interestingly, Mercor relied solely on its own platform to fill all staffing needs until February of this year. The company now employs 15 people.

Mercor founders Adarsh Hiremath, Brendan Foody, and Surya Midha