Mercor is discussing a new round at a $20 billion valuation

Mercor, a startup that connects AI labs with domain experts who train their models, is in talks to raise money at a valuation of about $20 billion, Bloomberg reported on July 9, 2026. That would double the $10 billion valuation of its October 2025 Series C. As of August 2026, no round had been announced.

What did Bloomberg report about Mercor?

Mercor is discussing new funding at roughly $20 billion, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg. The company told investors it had received at least one term sheet at that price.

Bloomberg called the talks early and cautioned that Mercor might not raise a round at all, or that the terms could change. The same talks, as reported by Forbes, are covered in Mercor discusses a round at a $20 billion valuation.

What is Mercor's valuation history?

Mercor's valuation rose fivefold in 2025, and the reported talks would double it again.

Benchmark, General Catalyst and Robinhood Ventures also joined the Series C. A valuation discussed in talks is not a closed price; see how to read news about a company's valuation.

How fast is Mercor growing?

Very fast, by its CEO's account. Brendan Foody said on X that annualized revenue passed $2 billion in June 2026, up 100% in four months, SiliconANGLE reported.

The Next Web, citing The Information, describes this run rate as gross billings, of which contractors receive 60–70%. Which metrics matter when valuing a private company is covered in evaluating pre-IPO companies.

Why is Mercor buying Deeptune?

To add the software side of AI training. Deeptune builds reinforcement learning environments, simulated copies of business software where AI agents practice tasks.

Mercor announced the agreement to acquire Deeptune on July 9, 2026, without disclosing terms. Mercor was already a Deeptune customer, and CEO Tim Lupo and the whole team are joining Mercor in New York. Andreessen Horowitz led Deeptune's $43 million Series A in March 2026, a round in which Foody invested personally, according to SiliconANGLE.

What are the risks?

Mercor is private, and the $20 billion figure comes from talks, not a completed deal.

• The round may not happen. Bloomberg's sources said the terms could change or Mercor might not raise at all.
• Revenue quality. A run rate based on gross billings overstates what Mercor keeps after paying experts.
• Security and customers. After a supply-chain attack through the open-source tool LiteLLM in March 2026, Meta paused work with Mercor and contractors sued, The Next Web reported. Mercor said in June that the impact on customer information was very limited.

Update (October 2026): On August 19, The Information reported that Nvidia was in talks to back Mercor at a $20 billion valuation and that General Catalyst was in talks to lead the round, Yahoo Finance wrote (see Mercor doubles valuation to $20 billion). As of October 21, 2026, Mercor had not announced a closed round.