Handshake, Mercor Revenue Surges on Demand for Human Contractors to Train AI

AI firms’ voracious appetite for more data has lifted sales for obscure startups doing the industry’s unglamorous work: contracting https://www.theinformation.com/articles/why-a-14-billion-startup-is-now-hiring-phds-to-train-ai-from-their-living-rooms?rc=zjctrx">with lawyers, Phd holders and medical doctors who grade the answers AI models generate.

The latest is Handshake, a 12-year-old startup that began as a job site for college graduates.

Handshake’s gross annualized revenue from AI training has risen to nearly $1 billion, up from $550 million in January and $5 million to $10 million a year ago, a few months after it started the new business, according to two people familiar with its finances.