Why experts writing AI evals is creating the fastest-growing companies in history | Brendan Foody (CEO of Mercor)

09/18/25
Source: Lenny’s Newsletter by Lenny Rachitsky. Read the original article

TL;DR Summary of How Mercor is Revolutionizing AI with Evaluations and Rapid Growth

Mercor has emerged as a trailblazer in the AI industry by addressing the critical bottleneck of AI evaluations, which serve as the new product requirements and sales tools for AI startups. Founded by Brendan Foody, the youngest American unicorn founder, Mercor achieved a historic growth from $1M to $500M in revenue within just 17 months. This success stems from their work with top AI labs to hire experts for creating high-quality evaluation and training data, shaping the future of AI development and labor markets in an AI-driven economy.

Optimixed’s Overview: Exploring Mercor’s Breakthrough Role in AI Evaluation and Market Expansion

Understanding the Era of AI Evaluations

Mercor is pioneering what is described as the “era of evals,” where evaluations have become the central focus in advancing AI capabilities. These evaluations are no longer just technical benchmarks; they act as essential product requirement documents (PRDs) and even sales collateral for AI companies, underscoring their strategic importance.

From Startup to Fastest-Growing AI Company

  • Rapid Growth: Mercor’s revenue skyrocketed from $1 million to $500 million in only 17 months, marking it as the fastest-growing company in history by this metric.
  • Founder Insight: Brendan Foody, aged 22, leveraged his unique insight into AI’s bottlenecks to build a company that partners with leading AI labs and the “Magnificent 7” tech giants.

Key Industry Impact and Future Outlook

Mercor specializes in connecting AI companies with experts who create critical training data and evaluations, directly impacting AI model performance. Brendan Foody highlights how this role shapes the future of labor markets, emphasizing that jobs with “elastic demand” will remain valuable as AI advances. He also shares perspectives on the timeline for AGI and superintelligence, suggesting they are not imminent.

Core Values Driving Success

  • Innovation: Tackling AI’s biggest bottleneck through expert-driven evaluation processes.
  • Collaboration: Working closely with top AI labs and industry leaders.
  • Agility: Rapid scaling and adapting to AI’s evolving landscape.

Mercor exemplifies how targeted innovation and strategic partnerships can accelerate AI progress and redefine the future workplace.