Who's making the most money from the AI boom?
haydenfield · x · 2026-09-01
A deep dive by The Verge into the little-known companies profiting from the AI hype cycle. As frontier labs like OpenAI and Anthropic require vast amounts of specialized data for AGI, they are spending billions, creating a lucrative market for firms like Mercor and Handshake.
Key Insights:
- Mercor's Pivot: Started as an automated staffing agency, it shifted focus in early 2024 when Scale AI requested 1,200 software engineers to generate code training data. This prompted Mercor to cut out the middleman.
- Rise of Data Engineering: AI training has moved beyond simple labeling to require skilled engineers and domain experts, driving up costs and creating new market opportunities.
- Industry Ecosystem: Established giants like Scale AI face labor disputes (e.g., lawsuits over wage theft), opening doors for newer, tech-driven outsourcing platforms.
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