Riding the AI wave: 3 college dropouts beat Zuckerberg to become youngest self-made billionaires

Three American college dropouts — Brendan Foody, Adarsh Hiremath, and Surya Midha — have achieved what few can even dream of at 22. The trio, two of whom have Indian roots, have officially become the world’s youngest self-made billionaires, surpassing Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who reached the milestone at 23. 

Their company, Mercor, has just closed a $350 million (₹3,107 crore) funding round, valuing the AI-driven recruiting startup at a staggering $10 billion (₹88,779 crore), according to Forbes. Based in San Francisco, Mercor helps Silicon Valley’s top AI labs train and enhance their models — a space that has exploded amid the global artificial intelligence boom. 

High school debaters to billionaire entrepreneurs 

The founders’ story began at Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, where Adarsh Hiremath and Surya Midha met as debate champions. Later, at Georgetown University, they crossed paths with Brendan Foody, an economics major. 

Hiremath, who studied computer science at Harvard, dropped out to focus on Mercor full-time. Midha left Georgetown’s international relations program, while Foody followed soon after — all driven by their belief in AI’s power to reshape how humans work. 

Each of the three is also a Thiel Fellow, a prestigious $100,000 grant created by billionaire investor Peter Thiel to support young entrepreneurs who drop out of college to pursue transformative ideas. 

Mercor’s meteoric rise 

Initially launched in 2023 as a freelance marketplace connecting Indian software developers with US startups, Mercor quickly pivoted when AI tools like ChatGPT took off. The company began using machine learning to automate hiring, match global talent, and manage human-in-the-loop AI tasks — critical processes where human judgment complements algorithmic precision. 

Today, over 30,000 professionals across sectors such as law, medicine, finance, and engineering use Mercor’s platform. Its client list includes OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, and several members of the “Magnificent Seven” tech giants. Despite its massive valuation, Mercor operates with a lean team of just 30 employees, most in their early twenties. 

The startup’s growth has been staggering — annualised revenue jumped from $100 million to $500 million within months in 2024. Its earlier funding rounds — a $32 million Series A and a $100 million Series B — helped it reach a $2 billion valuation before its latest surge. 

Momentum accelerated after Meta’s $14.3 billion acquisition of Scale AI, positioning Mercor as a neutral alternative for major AI firms seeking training and workforce solutions. 

New tech Generation g

Mercor’s founders represent a generational shift in the tech world, joining other young disruptors such as Shayne Coplan (27) of Polymarket and Alexandr Wang (28) of Scale AI. 

Their journey — from dorm rooms and debate halls to billion-dollar boardrooms — highlights how the intersection of AI, automation, and global talent networks is creating a new class of digital-age billionaires. 

In just two years, Foody, Hiremath, and Midha have not only outpaced Zuckerberg’s record — they’ve rewritten Silicon Valley’s playbook for how fast innovation, ambition, and artificial intelligence can build the next global empire.