Success Editor Team
In an extraordinary achievement that has stunned the global startup ecosystem, three 22-year-old Indian American entrepreneurs—Brendan Foody, Adarsh Hiremath, and Surya Midha—have become the world’s youngest self-made billionaires, breaking the long-standing record held by Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg entered the Forbes billionaire list at age 23, but these young founders reached the milestone a year earlier, thanks to the phenomenal success of their AI recruitment startup, Mercor.
Their company recently raised a massive Rs 3,107 crore in fresh funding, pushing its valuation to an estimated Rs 88,000 crore. This valuation not only cements Mercor’s place among the world’s fastest-growing AI startups but also positions its founders among the youngest billionaires in history.
Founded in 2023, Mercor was built by Thiel Fellows and college dropouts—Foody, Hiremath, and Owen Young. Though Surya Midha joined early and played a pivotal role in the startup’s growth, the founding story is deeply connected to their shared academic journey and entrepreneurial drive. Some of the founders dropped out of prestigious institutions, including Harvard, to pursue their vision of transforming the global hiring landscape.
Mercor focuses on revolutionizing recruitment using the power of artificial intelligence. In a world where companies struggle to identify the right talent efficiently, Mercor’s platform offers a groundbreaking solution. It uses AI to analyze resumes, conduct automated interviews, assess candidate behavior patterns, and predict job fit with far greater accuracy than traditional hiring methods.
The global talent market has long been burdened with inefficiencies—slow hiring cycles, unconscious biases, and high turnover rates. Mercor’s platform addresses these issues head-on. Its algorithms evaluate technical skills, communication abilities, logical thinking, and personality traits, ensuring that employers receive highly refined candidate assessments. This not only accelerates the hiring process but also improves employee retention by matching candidates to their ideal roles.
The success of Mercor is a testament to the rising influence of AI-powered decision-making across industries. Companies across the U.S., Europe, and Asia have already begun integrating Mercor into their recruitment pipelines, reflecting the demand for smarter, automated hiring processes.
What truly sets Mercor apart is its ability to scale rapidly. Within just two years, the company attracted global investors, achieved a multi-billion-dollar valuation, and secured partnerships with leading corporations. As demand for AI-driven HR solutions soars, Mercor is on track to become one of the most influential recruitment platforms of the decade.
The remarkable journey of Foody, Hiremath, and Midha highlights the growing trend of young entrepreneurs reshaping the future using innovative technologies. Their achievement not only surpasses Zuckerberg’s record but also inspires millions of aspiring founders worldwide. As Mercor continues to expand and refine its AI capabilities, its young billionaire founders are already being hailed as the next big disruptors in the global tech industry.
