AI hiring and workforce platform Mercor is in discussions to raise fresh funding at a valuation of approximately $20 billion, potentially doubling its valuation in less than a year as investor demand for fast-growing AI infrastructure companies continues to accelerate.

The funding talks are still in the early stages, but reports indicate the company has already received investor interest at the proposed valuation. If completed, the new round would significantly increase Mercor's value from the $10 billion valuation it achieved after its Series C funding round in late 2025.

Founded in 2023, Mercor connects highly skilled professionals-including engineers, researchers, lawyers, physicians, and financial experts-with leading AI companies that require human expertise to train, evaluate, and improve large language models. As demand for high-quality AI training data continues to grow, Mercor has rapidly expanded its customer base and operational scale.

The company recently revealed that its annualized revenue run rate has surpassed $2 billion, doubling from approximately $1 billion in just four months. The milestone places Mercor among the fastest-growing AI startups globally and has strengthened investor confidence in its long-term growth prospects.

Alongside the fundraising discussions, Mercor also announced the acquisition of Deeptune, an AI startup focused on improving the training of AI agents through reinforcement learning and advanced evaluation systems. The entire Deeptune team will join Mercor as part of the acquisition, bringing additional expertise in developing data infrastructure for next-generation AI models.

The acquisition is expected to strengthen Mercor's capabilities beyond talent matching by enhancing the company's AI model training platform. Industry analysts view the move as part of a broader strategy to build a more comprehensive ecosystem supporting AI development, from sourcing domain experts to delivering sophisticated evaluation and reinforcement learning services.

Mercor's latest momentum follows a challenging period earlier this year that included a cybersecurity incident and legal disputes involving contractors. However, its rapid revenue growth, strategic acquisition, and renewed investor interest suggest the company has regained significant market confidence.

If the funding round closes at the reported valuation, Mercor would join a growing group of AI startups reaching multibillion-dollar valuations as competition intensifies among companies building the infrastructure that powers advanced artificial intelligence systems.