The startup Mercor, which works on artificial-intelligence training, is reportedly negotiating a new funding round at an estimated valuation of 20 billion dollars. If the figure is accurate, that is double what it was last October, when the company raised 350 million dollars at a valuation of 10 billion. According to Bloomberg sources, the talks are still at an early stage, but Mercor has already told investors it has an offer on the table.

Founder and chief executive Brendan Foody announced on X that the company's annual revenue had surpassed 2 billion dollars - a hundred percent growth in just four months. Breathtaking numbers, if they are accurate. And here is the eternal question with startups from the AI era: how much of these valuations is real economy, and how much is inflated expectation that needs the next investor to hold up.

That Mercor is building, not just raising money, is also shown by the announcement that it is buying another company - Deeptune, which helps train AI agents. Deeptune's entire team is moving to Mercor. With the revenue, the acquisition and a possible new funding round, the company seems to be leaving behind the troubles from early 2026, when it suffered a data breach. Whether 20 billion is the real price of an AI-training company or just the latest leap in a race where everyone wants to be the next unicorn - time will tell, not the investors' term sheet.