Equity How AI is reshaping work and who gets to do it, according to Mercor's CEO
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Jan 2, 2026 
Brendan Foody, CEO of Mercor, shares his entrepreneurial journey from dorm-room startup to a pivotal player in AI training. He discusses how Mercor connects top industry experts with AI labs, emphasizing high pay and a referral-driven hiring model. Brendan explores the debate on job displacement versus creation, asserting that automation boosts demand for skilled roles. With an eye on the future, he envisions collaboration between humans and AI, driving unprecedented productivity growth in the workforce.
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High-Skill Experts Power Next-Gen AI
- Mercor shifted AI data work from low-skill crowdsourcing to sourcing highly skilled experts for sophisticated model training.
- Brendan Foody says top-tier domain experts are now essential to build advanced agents across industries.
Why Labs Need Intermediaries
- Companies often won't share proprietary data with AI labs, creating demand for intermediaries who can train models without direct corporate datasets.
- Mercor fills that role by hiring former employees to teach agents company workflows while avoiding direct data transfer.
Hiring Former Insiders, With Boundaries
- Brendan says most contractors are former employees of firms like Goldman rather than current staff, and Mercor uses contracts and guidance to prevent corporate data misuse.
- He acknowledges occasional breaches but emphasizes contractual controls and guidance to limit liability.