What happened
TechCrunch reported on 27 October 2025 that Mercor had raised a $350 million Series C led by Felicis Ventures, with Benchmark, General Catalyst and, as a new investor, Robinhood Ventures taking part. The round valued the company at $10 billion, against $2 billion at its Series B in February 2025.
Three days later, on 30 October, Forbes reported the consequence under a headline that stated it flatly: these 22-year-olds are now the world's youngest self-made billionaires. Foody, as chief executive and a co-founder, was among them. His Forbes profile later listed his net worth at $2.2 billion.
What Mercor actually does
The business sits at an unglamorous junction of the artificial-intelligence boom. Laboratories training large models need specialists, physicians, lawyers, scientists, to produce and evaluate material in their fields. Mercor recruits and matches those experts, charging hourly finder's fees and matching rates.
TechCrunch reported the scale at the time of the round: more than 30,000 contractors, average earnings above $85 an hour, and over $1.5 million paid out daily, with the company saying it was on track for $500 million in annualised revenue. That is a labour marketplace rather than a model laboratory, which is why its economics scaled so quickly.
Three debate partners
The research record sets out the origin: Mercor was founded in 2023 by Foody with Adarsh Hiremath and Surya Midha, teammates from the debate programme at Bellarmine College Prep. Foody dropped out of Georgetown University and became a Thiel Fellow, the programme that pays young founders to leave university.
Competitive debate is not an accidental background for this company. It trains people to research an unfamiliar domain quickly, argue it under pressure and be judged on the result, which is close to the exercise of evaluating expert work at speed.
How rare this is
Self-made billionaires in their early twenties are vanishingly rare, which is why Forbes treated the Mercor round as a list story rather than a funding story. The valuation is also a paper figure: it reflects what investors paid for a slice of the company in a single transaction, not cash in anyone's account.
Forbes's own profile, which put Foody's net worth at $2.2 billion, illustrates the point. Wealth calculated from a private company's most recent round moves with the next round, and in a sector where valuations have re-rated repeatedly it can move in either direction.
What is documented, and what is not
Firmly established: the $350 million Series C led by Felicis Ventures at a $10 billion valuation in October 2025, the previous $2 billion valuation in February 2025, the contractor numbers and payout rate, and the Forbes listing of the founders as the world's youngest self-made billionaires at 22.
Not established here: his date of birth, his role in the founding beyond the chief executive title, and how the company has performed since the round. The research record gives a birth year of 2003, consistent with being 22 in October 2025, and notes that Wikipedia's coverage attaches to Mercor rather than to him.
| Person | Country | Milestone | Age / Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moziah Bridges | United States | Founding Mo's Bows at nine; NBA licensing deal for team bow ties | Age 9 |
| Bella Tipping | Australia | Every travel review site asked adults what they thought. Hers asked the ch | Age 13 |
| Ollie Forsyth | United Kingdom | The Budding Entrepreneur Club, an invitation-only founders' network | Age 18 |
| Aryan Sharma | India | Co-founding Induced AI at 18 | Age 18 |
| Brendan Foody | United States | Co-founding and leading Mercor | Age 20 |
What is documented — and what is not
✓ Documented
- Mercor raised a $350 million Series C led by Felicis Ventures at a $10 billion valuation, reported 27 October 2025 (TechCrunch)
- The company had been valued at $2 billion at its Series B in February 2025
- Forbes named the 22-year-old founders among the world's youngest self-made billionaires on 30 October 2025
- Mercor reported over 30,000 contractors and more than $1.5 million paid out daily
? Unverified, disputed or wrong
- No source read states his date of birth
- The founding story and Thiel Fellowship come from the research record rather than a page read in full
- No source read carries a direct quotation from him
- Company performance after October 2025 is not documented here
Questions people ask about Brendan Foody
How old is Brendan Foody?
He was 22 when Forbes reported the billionaire listing in October 2025, pointing to a birth year of about 2003. No source read here gives his date of birth.
What does Mercor do?
It connects AI laboratories with domain experts such as doctors, lawyers and scientists who help train models, charging hourly finder's and matching fees.
How much is Mercor worth?
It was valued at $10 billion in its October 2025 Series C, up from $2 billion in February 2025.
What is Brendan Foody's net worth?
His Forbes profile lists $2.2 billion. Figures of this kind derive from a private company's latest funding round and move with it.
Did he go to university?
He left Georgetown University and became a Thiel Fellow, according to the research record.
Who co-founded Mercor with him?
Adarsh Hiremath and Surya Midha, teammates from the debate programme at Bellarmine College Prep.
Is Brendan Foody on Wikipedia?
The research record notes coverage attaching to Mercor rather than a standalone article about him.
Quick quiz: how well do you know Brendan’s story?
What does Mercor connect AI laboratories with?
What valuation did the October 2025 round give Mercor?
Where did the three founders first work together?
Sources
- These 22-Year-Olds Are Now The World's Youngest Self-Made Billionaires — Forbes, 2025-10-30
- Mercor quintuples valuation to $10B with $350M Series C — TechCrunch, 2025-10-27
- Brendan Foody (profile) — Forbes, 2026
Checked by the Geniuses.club editorial team. Ages are given as of September 2026.
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