Mercor has its moment in the AI data race

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, Max Zeff dive deeper into how the AI data market is changing, check in on startups that recently went public and share their takes on the divisive orange iPhone.

Listen to the full episode to hear about:

• Bending Spoons’ ⁠acquisition of Vimeo for $1.38 billion⁠, 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.

Equity will be back next week. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!

Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices