These 22-year-old billionaire Peter Thiel proteges pay professionals $2M a day to train the AI that could replace them

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Doctors, lawyers, investment bankers and journalists are moonlighting as AI trainers. Are they securing their spot in an AI-fueled future or signing their death sentence? That depends on who you ask.

Mercor, a gig-work platform that provides top white-collar talent to AI labs like OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta, has tens of thousands of such experts. According to a Bloomberg report, the company pays out more than $2 million per day to contractors, but some have called out an intrusive level of surveillance and being "treated like human cattle (1)."

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While some are hailing AI training as the hot new version of gig work, others have called it a "scheme to misclassify workers," Bloomberg reports. The very nature of contractor work is independent, meaning employers cannot tell individuals when to work and how that work gets done.

Yet there are open cases regarding Mercor exercising the kind of control associated with an employer.

And, ironically, the founders, who are in their early 20s, have never had traditional corporate jobs.

The 23-year-old founders who hail from the Bay Area are Thiel Fellows — members of the billionaire investor Peter Thiel's program that provides $250,000 grants to young people who are skipping or quitting college (2). And they have become the youngest self-made billionaires.

CEO Brendan Foody, CTO Adarsh Hiremath and board chairman Surya Midha each have a roughly 22% stake in the company, Forbes estimates (3).

"It's definitely crazy," Foody told Forbes. "It feels very surreal. Obviously beyond our wildest imaginations, insofar as anything that we could have anticipated two years ago."

The startup is now in talks to raise $500 million at a valuation that could double its $10 billion worth in less than a year (4).

Mercor did not immediately respond to Moneywise's request for comment.

Sundeep Peechu, managing partner at the VC firm Felicis Ventures, which led Mercor's previous funding rounds, commented on the category in the Bloomberg article.

He said the first era of data was from the internet, but for AI to become truly economically useful, humans must train the model on how they actually do the work.

This leaves everyday Americans at odds.

On the one hand, experts are anticipating the collapse of the professional class. A quick look at Mercor's website reveals a writing expert role going for $75 to $150 per hour (5) — which is more lucrative than many corporate or editorial projects. No one can be blamed for jumping ship.

Yet on the other hand, there's a growing dialogue around AI malaise (6), particularly surrounding environmental and economic displacement concerns. It's dehumanizing to mentor AI models on a 10-, 20-, 30- or 40-year body of work, knowing you're feeding the very thing that will bite you later.

Read More: Millionaires under 43 hold only 25% of their wealth in stocks. Here's where their money is actually going

The pace of AI-driven job cuts is picking up fast — and it's no longer just a future concern.

In the first half of 2026 alone, companies cited AI as the reason behind more than 101,000 job cuts (7), already far exceeding the nearly 55,000 AI-linked cuts in all of 2025 (8).

But while AI adoption is accelerating within S&P 500 companies, research reveals that non-technology firms are integrating the intelligence at a much slower pace (9). So it's possible that in some industries, AI may be creating new opportunities while reshaping — but not uniformly eliminating — professional roles.

Still, AI layoffs are a modern reality. And with job security getting less predictable each day, preparing your finances now is essential. Having an emergency fund in place to manage an unexpected job loss — and buy yourself time to re-skill or reorient — could make or break the pace of your paychecks.

A high-yield account like a Wealthfront Cash Account can be a great place to grow your uninvested cash, offering both competitive interest rates and easy access to your money when you need it.

A Wealthfront Cash Account currently offers a base APY of 3.30% through program banks, and new clients can get an extra 0.75% boost during their first three months on up to $150,000 for a total variable APY of 4.05%.

That's 10 times the national deposit savings rate, according to the FDIC's July report (10).

Additionally, Wealthfront is offering new clients who enable direct deposit ($1,000/mo minimum) to their Cash Account and open and fund a new investment account an additional 0.25% APY increase with no expiration date or balance limit, meaning your APY could be as high as 4.30%.

With no minimum balances or account fees, as well as 24/7 withdrawals and free domestic wire transfers, your funds remain accessible at all times. Plus, you get access to up to $8M FDIC Insurance eligibility through program banks.

If you're struggling to build out your emergency fund, the first place to look for answers is in your monthly bills.

Fixed costs can quietly eat into your budget, especially when times get uncertain. Insurance premiums — which have been rising at a rapid pace over the past few years — can be a good place to start. Rates vary widely between providers, so taking the time to compare options could lower your monthly burden without sacrificing coverage.

OfficialHomeInsurance lets you compare rates and features on home insurance policies from top providers near you.

Here's how it works: Answer a few basic questions about yourself and your home, and OfficialHomeInsurance will comb through its database of over 200 insurers to display the lowest rates available. On average, you could save $482 per year by comparing rates.

The best part? This process is entirely free, and it takes just two minutes.

But that doesn't mean you have to accept the first quote you receive. Just a few minutes of comparison shopping could help bring those rising monthly costs back down. You may also want to look at much more than just your home insurance costs.

In fact, you could save an average of $1,100 annually by using a comparison platform like Insurify, which lets you instantly view quotes from top-rated providers and choose the best rate available.

Just answer a few basic questions, and Insurify will show you the most affordable deals in as little as three minutes.

Not only is the process 100% free, but you could also save up to 15% by bundling your car and home insurance so you can drive down the cost of multiple monthly line items in one pass.

From here, you may want to funnel the money you've saved into that budding emergency fund. Or, if your fund is secured, it could be time to start looking at income-growing opportunities.

Relying on a single paycheck can be a gamble in a job market that's shifting this quickly. One way to cushion that risk is by putting part of your portfolio into investments that generate steady, recurring income. A bit of passive money in your pocket could help keep you going if AI tidings turn into a tidal wave.

Real estate has long been a go-to for passive income, but traditional ownership comes with added headaches of maintenance, tenants and unexpected costs.

The good news? You don't need to take on a mortgage or scrape together a hefty down payment to get exposure anymore.

Mogul is a real estate investment platform offering fractional ownership in blue-chip rental properties, which gives investors monthly rental income, real-time appreciation and tax benefits — without the need for a big down payment or late-night tenant calls.

Founded by former Goldman Sachs real estate investors, mogul handpicks the top 1% of single-family rental homes nationwide for you. Simply put, you can invest in institutional-quality offerings for a fraction of the usual cost.

Mogul's team carefully vets each property, requiring a minimum 12% return even in downside scenarios. Across the board, the platform features an average annual IRR of 18.8%. Their cash-on-cash yields, meanwhile, average between 10 and 12% annually. With investments typically ranging between $15,000 and $40,000 per property, offerings often sell out in under three hours.

Getting started is a quick and easy process. You can sign up for an account and then browse available properties. Once you verify your information with their team, you can invest like a mogul in just a few clicks.

— With files from Amanda Smith

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We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.

Bloomberg (1); Thiel Fellowship (2); Forbes (3), (4); Mercor (5); Pew Research Center (6); Challenger, Gray & Christmas (7), (8); arXiv (9); FDIC (10)

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.