Early Life
Adarsh Hiremath was born in the United States to Indian immigrant parents from Karnataka, India. He grew up in the Bay Area of California, where he attended Bellarmine College Preparatory, a Jesuit high school. At Bellarmine, Hiremath met his future business partners, Brendan Foody and Surya Midha. Together, they were on the debate team, where they achieved a significant milestone by winning all three major U.S. national policy debate tournaments in a single year.
Rise to Success
After high school, Hiremath enrolled at Harvard University to study Computer Science. During his sophomore year, Hiremath co-founded Mercor in his dorm room with Foody and Midha. They recognized the potential of AI and decided to build an AI-driven recruiting system. The startup was initially focused on connecting software developers in India with U.S. companies. The founders later dropped out of college to focus on Mercor and received the Thiel Fellowship, which provided them with financial support to pursue their venture. Mercor's AI platform automates hiring and connects global talent for specialized “human-in-the-loop” tasks. The company's valuation soared to $10 billion after a $350 million funding round in 2025, making Hiremath and his co-founders the youngest self-made billionaires, surpassing Mark Zuckerberg.
Key Business Strategies
Mercor's core strategy involved leveraging AI to streamline the recruitment process. The company's platform offers an automated system that simplifies and accelerates the hiring process by connecting AI labs with experts. Mercor has partnered with major AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. Hiremath's technical skills and understanding of AI were critical in developing and implementing this strategy.
Philanthropy
Specific philanthropic details are unavailable in the search results.