NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
Mountainview, CA, March 13, 2026: An Indian American entrepreneur from Silicon Valley has made global headlines after becoming the youngest self-made billionaire in the world.
Surya Midha, a 22-year-old co-founder of the artificial intelligence recruiting startup Mercor, has entered the Forbes World’s Billionaires list with an estimated net worth of $2.2 billion, following a recent funding round that valued the company at about $10 billion. The milestone makes Midha one of the youngest billionaires ever and surpasses the record set by Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, who became a billionaire at age 23.
Midha co-founded Mercor in 2023 with fellow entrepreneurs Brendan Foody and Adarsh Hiremath, both also 22. The three friends, who first met as high school debate teammates in the San Francisco Bay Area, launched the company after leaving college to pursue the startup full-time.
Mercor has quickly emerged as a major player in the rapidly expanding artificial intelligence economy. The company operates an AI-driven hiring platform that uses algorithms to evaluate job candidates and match them with employers seeking specialized technical talent. The platform is particularly focused on connecting companies with engineers, researchers, and experts who can help build and train artificial intelligence systems.
The company’s rapid rise reflects the intense global demand for skilled workers in the AI sector. Mercor’s technology automates parts of the hiring process, including candidate evaluation and matching, allowing companies to identify qualified talent more quickly.
A major funding round in late 2025 brought in approximately $350 million in investment, pushing Mercor’s valuation to around $10 billion and elevating its founders into the ranks of the world’s youngest billionaires.
Midha was born in Mountain View, California, to parents who immigrated from New Delhi, and grew up in San Jose in the heart of Silicon Valley. His success reflects a broader trend of Indian American entrepreneurs playing a prominent role in the technology and startup ecosystem.
While the three founders share similar fortunes, Midha is believed to be the youngest of the group by a few months, making him one of the youngest self-made billionaires in history.
Mercor’s rise comes at a time when artificial intelligence startups are attracting record levels of investment worldwide. Companies developing AI infrastructure, tools, and talent platforms have become central to the next phase of the technology industry’s growth.
For Midha, the achievement marks an extraordinary milestone at an age when many entrepreneurs are just beginning their careers.
With the AI industry expanding rapidly, observers say Mercor’s success — and Midha’s meteoric rise — highlights the growing influence of a new generation of young tech founders shaping the future of work and artificial intelligence.
Cover photo credit: Mercor.ai/Instagram.
