Mercor
AI-run hiring marketplace that mostly staffs frontier labs, and sometimes product teams
What is Mercor?
Mercor was founded in 2023 and uses AI agents to interview and match contractors, and in October 2025 it closed a Series C at a $10 billion valuation. It began by hiring software engineers, and a spokesperson said in 2025 that engineers were still its most requested talent. More than 90% of its revenue, though, now comes from AI model companies buying expert work for training data. It still places people in full-time, part-time and contract roles with other clients, and an analysis by Sacra puts its recruiting fee at 30%.
Mercor works primarily with clients in AI research labs, Software & SaaS, Professional services sectors. Its primary differentiator is: AI interviewing that can screen very large candidate pools quickly.
Mercor tech stack and services
| Service area |
|---|
| LLM Engineers |
| ML Engineers |
| AI Talent Network |
| Fractional Experts |
Mercor pricing
Short answer: Mercor uses a marketplace fee on contractor pay (about 30% per sacra); rates set per role pricing approach. Minimum engagement is not publicly disclosed; a discovery call is required.
| Engagement model | Typical range | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Fractional experts | Variable; depends on team size | Large programmes or team augmentation |
| Dedicated engineers | Variable; depends on team size | Large programmes or team augmentation |
Mercor pros and cons
| Advantages | Things to consider |
|---|---|
| +Can source very large numbers of contractors quickly | -More than 90% of revenue comes from AI labs, so ordinary product teams are a small part of its business |
| +Covers domain experts such as doctors and lawyers as well as engineers | -Contractors are not employees, and continuity rests with the individual |
| +Well funded | -A 30% fee is high next to employer-based firms |
Mercor vs alternatives
How Mercor compares to the other top AI-Native Staff Augmentation companies.
| Company | Best for | Key difference | Rating | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quantiphi | Enterprises that need several AI specialists at once... | A multi-thousand-person AI and data bench with a named staffing program run with AWS | 4.6 | Full comparison |
| Tensorway | Product teams that want senior AI engineers inside... | Senior AI engineers run the screening, and knowledge transfer to in-house staff is part of every engagement | 4.5 | Full comparison |
| deepsense.ai | Long MLOps or computer-vision engagements that need senior... | A decade of ML-only delivery, with multi-year augmentation clients on record | 4.4 | Full comparison |
| Fusemachines | Mid-market and enterprise buyers who want AI engineers... | Its own AI education program feeds the engineering bench | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| InData Labs | Buyers who want an R&D-minded data science team... | Research-led data science with a dedicated-team option | 4.2 | Full comparison |
| Sigmoid | CPG and retail data teams that need ML... | Requirement-by-requirement split between project work and monthly staff augmentation | 4.2 | Full comparison |
| Data Science UA | Companies building a Ukrainian AI team they will... | Recruiting from Ukraine's largest AI community, with managed teams as an option | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| Algoscale | Budget-conscious teams that need data engineers and ML... | Data consulting experience bundled into staff augmentation, plus a free trial | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| Kanerika | Enterprises modernizing data platforms that want onshore, nearshore... | Three delivery models under one contract, from Austin, Argentina and India | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Vstorm | Teams whose agent prototype works in a demo... | Senior agent engineers who join an existing team to fix reliability and integration | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Fuzzy Labs | UK data science teams, including public sector, that... | Open-source MLOps specialists with security-cleared engineers for government work | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Tribe AI | Companies that want senior AI engineers and product... | A curated network of senior AI practitioners deployed inside the client's organization | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Addepto | Industrial and automotive companies adding AI and data... | AI-heavy team with manufacturing domain experience, now backed by a larger group | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| Neurons Lab | Banks and insurers that need agentic AI engineers... | Financial-services AI with AWS GenAI competency and forward-deployed engineers | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| Merantix Momentum | German industrial companies that want an outside ML... | Operates as a company's ML function, backed by the Merantix AI ecosystem | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| Sciforce | Healthcare and scientific data projects that need NLP... | Medical and scientific data experience in a small AI-first firm | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| Pento | U.S. startups and mid-market firms that want nearshore... | AI-only engineering from Uruguay with full U.S. working-hour overlap | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| DataToBiz | Analytics teams that need BI and data science... | Fast placement of data and BI specialists with AI skills | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Sigmoidal | U.S. companies that want a small ML team... | Data-centric ML specialists with a staff augmentation model for long engagements | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Omdena | Startups and mission-driven organizations that want to see... | Challenge-based vetting where engineers solve your real problem before you hire | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| micro1 | Startups that want vetted remote AI developers quickly,... | AI-run vetting at volume plus employer-of-record payroll | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Dataroots | Benelux enterprises that need ML and data engineers... | Benelux data platform specialists backed by Talan's wider consulting group | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| BroutonLab | Startups that need a PhD-level data scientist part-time... | Fractional deep learning experts at a published hourly rate | 3.7 | Full comparison |
| Experfy | Enterprises that want a private, pre-vetted pool of... | Private talent clouds with expert vetting and employer-of-record cover | 3.7 | Full comparison |
| Dataforest | Companies that need data engineers who can also... | Data engineering depth with AI agent work on top | 3.7 | Full comparison |
| BotsCrew | Companies adding chatbot or voice-agent engineers to a... | Nearly a decade of conversational AI work, now with U.S. ownership | 3.7 | Full comparison |
| Brainpool AI | Buyers who need a rare academic AI specialist... | Academic-heavy expert network across 23 countries | 3.6 | Full comparison |
| Data Pilot | Small budgets that need a data and ML... | Low-cost data and ML team that can also manage the developers it sources | 3.6 | Full comparison |
Mercor FAQ
What is Mercor?
AI-run hiring marketplace that mostly staffs frontier labs, and sometimes product teams
How much does Mercor charge?
Mercor uses marketplace fee on contractor pay (about 30% per sacra); rates set per role pricing. Minimum engagement is not publicly disclosed. A discovery call is required to get project-specific quotes.
What tech stack does Mercor use?
Mercor works with Python, PyTorch, OpenAI, Anthropic, TypeScript. Primary industries served include AI research labs, Software & SaaS, Professional services.
Is Mercor right for enterprise?
AI labs and companies that need evaluation or expert contractors in large numbers. ~300–400 staff; tens of thousands of contractors team size. Key consideration: More than 90% of revenue comes from AI labs, so ordinary product teams are a small part of its business.
What are the best Mercor alternatives?
The best alternatives to Mercor depend on your use case. Top options are:
- Quantiphi: a multi-thousand-person ai and data bench with a named staffing program run with aws
- Tensorway: senior ai engineers run the screening, and knowledge transfer to in-house staff is part of every engagement
- deepsense.ai: a decade of ml-only delivery, with multi-year augmentation clients on record
Compare Mercor with other AI-Native Staff Augmentation companies
Verify all details directly with Mercor before making a decision.