Nvidia is in negotiation stages to make a financial contribution to Mercor, a startup focused on supplying and preparing essential data for training artificial intelligence (AI) models.
This potential participation would be part of a new funding round that could raise the company's valuation to US$ 20 billion, which corresponds to approximately R$ 103.6 billion. News about this move was disclosed on Wednesday, the 19th, by The Information. It is important to note that the transaction is still under negotiation and the exact amount of Nvidia's contribution has not been established.
If the negotiation materializes according to the discussed terms, Mercor's valuation would double compared to the US$ 10 billion (about R$ 51.8 billion) achieved during its financing round in October. This possible US$ 20 billion round would indicate a significant appreciation of Mercor in a relatively short period, given that it was valued at US$ 10 billion in October of the previous year.
Mercor operates by providing data for the training and labeling of AI models, serving as a link between industry companies and human experts capable of generating or judging the information used in the development of these technologies. The company has already provided services to major names such as OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, although traditionally most of its revenue came from closed-source AI model developers.
Nvidia has been increasing its presence in this segment as it intensifies its efforts in developing open-source models. Nvidia's interest in Mercor is not limited only to financial investment; it also aligns with a direct partnership with a company that already offers a crucial component for creating its own AI models.
This potential operation also reinforces the growing relevance of specialized data generated by people in the process of training AI systems. In parallel, participation in Mercor is part of a broader strategy by Nvidia to increase its investments in the AI ecosystem, having invested US$ 18.6 billion (about R$ 96.3 billion) in the quarter ending in April.
Currently, however, the deal remains only in the evaluation phase. Nvidia is considering participating in the round, while General Catalyst, one of Mercor's current investors, is negotiating to lead the funding, but the final terms and the size of Nvidia's stake are yet to be determined.
