Meet the 22-Year-Old AI Founders Who Just Became the World’s Youngest Self-Made Billionaires

Three 22-year-old friends — Adarsh Hiremath, Surya Midha, and Brendan Foody — have become the world’s youngest self-made billionaires after their AI startup Mercor hit a $10 billion valuation. Founded in 2023, Mercor links AI labs with experts to train foundational models and has raised $500 million from investors like Peter Thiel and Jack Dorsey. Their rise underscores the growing influence of Indian-origin innovators in Silicon Valley’s booming AI sector.

Three college friends from California — Adarsh Hiremath, Surya Midha, and Brendan Foody — have officially entered history as the youngest self-made billionaires on the planet. At just 22 years old, their success story has outpaced that of Mark Zuckerberg, who became a billionaire at 23 after launching Facebook.

Their company, Mercor, an AI-driven recruiting and expert matching platform based in San Francisco, has skyrocketed in valuation following its latest funding round. The firm recently raised $350 million in fresh funding led by Felicis Ventures, pushing its valuation to an astonishing $10 billion — five times higher than its previous worth earlier this year. With each founder holding about 22% ownership, their individual stakes are now valued at approximately $2 billion each.

From High School Debates to Silicon Valley Titans

The trio’s journey began at Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, California, where they spent their teen years discussing how technology could reshape the future of work. That shared curiosity eventually evolved into a groundbreaking startup idea.

After graduating high school, the three pursued higher education at distinguished universities — Foody studied economics at Georgetown University, Hiremath delved into computer science at Harvard, and Midha focused on international relations at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service. Despite diverging academic paths, they reunited with a common goal: to revolutionize the way companies train artificial intelligence systems.

What Exactly Is Mercor?

Founded in 2023, Mercor originally started as a sophisticated AI-powered hiring platform. Today, it helps connect AI research labs with domain experts — professionals such as scientists, doctors, and lawyers — who train and refine foundational AI models. The platform now includes over 30,000 experts, forming one of the largest specialized talent networks in the emerging field of AI model development.

The company’s rapid growth has attracted heavyweights across the tech ecosystem. Among its backers are Peter Thiel (founder of PayPal), Jack Dorsey (founder of Twitter, now known as X), and Adam D’Angelo (CEO of Quora). Other key investors include Benchmark, General Catalyst, and Robinhood Ventures, bringing Mercor’s total capital raised to around $500 million, according to startup data firm Tracxn.

With the latest funding round, Mercor plans to enhance its matching algorithms, expand its expert pool, and accelerate delivery for clients around the globe.

The Indian-American Edge in AI Innovation

Hiremath, Mercor’s Chief Technology Officer, traces his family roots to Karnataka, while chairman Midha hails from a family originally from New Delhi. Their success further highlights the significant footprint Indian-origin entrepreneurs are making in Silicon Valley’s AI landscape.

They join a growing list of young Indian-origin tech leaders at the forefront of artificial intelligence innovation, including Aravind Srinivas, CEO and cofounder of Perplexity, who was recently listed as India’s youngest billionaire with a net worth of around $2 billion. Other notable names include Shiv Rao of Abridge, Arvind Jain of Glean, and Vipul Ved Prakash of Together AI — all leading ventures pushing the boundaries of generative and applied AI.

AI Funding Boom Continues

Globally, venture capital interest in AI remains red-hot. Between July and September, total global venture funding rose 38% year-over-year, hitting $97 billion, according to Crunchbase. Notably, the three largest funding rounds of the quarter were all for foundation model developers — with Anthropic raising $13 billion, xAI securing $5.3 billion, and Mistral AI drawing in $2 billion.

As AI companies continue to attract unprecedented investment, Mercor’s meteoric rise stands as both a symbol of youthful ambition and a sign of how quickly innovation in artificial intelligence is reshaping global wealth creation.