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| Adarsh Hiremath and Surya Midha, both 22, are high school friends who have become billionaires with Mercor. |
Three friends Brendan
Foody, Adarsh Hiremath and Surya Midha have achieved what very few people ever do:
they’ve become self-made billionaires, and at just 22 years old. Their company,
Mercor, a San Francisco-based AI recruiting startup, has soared in value and
made them record-holders. According to reports, this trio now surpasses even
Mark Zuckerberg’s milestone of becoming a young self-made billionaire at 23.
What Is
Mercor and What Do They Do?
Mercor was founded in 2023 and operates in the
fast-moving space of AI recruitment. Its platform uses artificial intelligence
to match job roles with qualified candidates, automating steps like resume
screening, candidate-matching, even AI-powered interviews. The company claims it can help firms find the
right people faster and more accurately by leveraging machine learning. “At a
high level, Mercor is training models that predict how well someone will
perform on a job better than a human can,” said Hiremath.
The Funding
and Valuation Surge
Mercor’s growth has been explosive. Early
funding rounds valued the startup modestly, but by early 2025 it had raised a
Series B round of about $100 million, giving it a valuation of around $2
billion. Later reports suggest a further funding round
pushed the valuation to $10 billion, which triggered the wealth
milestone for the founders. Their investors include major venture firms
like Felicis Ventures, Benchmark, General Catalyst and others.
The
Founders’ Backgrounds
Adarsh Hiremath and Surya Midha both hail from
Indian-American families and attended the same high school: Bellarmine College
Preparatory in San Jose, California. They were on the debate team together.
Hiremath went to study computer science at
Harvard University, and Midha studied foreign studies at Georgetown University,
while Brendan Foody was studying economics at Georgetown. All three dropped out
to focus on Mercor.
These founders were selected as Thiel Fellows
(a programme backed by Peter Thiel) which encourages young innovators to pursue
startups instead of a full college path.
Why This
Matters
This story matters for several reasons:
It shows how quickly young founders in the AI
and tech space can create large value.
It highlights how AI-driven recruitment and
“human-in-the-loop” models (using humans to train AI systems and making AI
better) are booming.
It signals a shift: many traditional paths
(college → job) are being disrupted as young entrepreneurs carve new routes.
The fact that two of the founders are
Indian-American adds to the global narrative of tech entrepreneurship in
today’s world.
Not Just a
Billionaire Story – The Bigger Picture
While the headline is “youngest self-made
billionaires,” there’s more beneath the surface: the business model, the risks,
the technology. Mercor’s proposition to transform hiring is bold but it faces
challenges: algorithmic bias, regulatory scrutiny, competition from other AI
startups. Their fast valuation jump also raises questions about sustainability
and real business fundamentals. Investors, analysts, and markets will watch
whether the company can maintain its growth, deliver value to clients and
candidates, and handle the scaling challenges.
What Comes
Next?
For Mercor and its founders, the journey is
just beginning. They now carry the spotlight of being the “world’s youngest
self-made billionaires,” which brings expectations. They will need to:
Execute on their promise of transforming
recruitment with AI.
Expand globally and across industries.
Stay ahead of tech shifts, ethical issues, and
competitor innovations.
Prove long-term viability, not just rapid
early success.
For aspiring entrepreneurs everywhere, their
story is both inspiring and cautionary: it shows what’s possible in today’s
tech-driven world, but also underscores that big success brings big
responsibilities.
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