Applications are open for the Mercor Research Fellowship APEX 2026. This fellowship offers selected fellows the chance to work on next-generation AI benchmarks and economic research with Mercor. The opportunity includes funding of up to $80,000.
Application Deadline
- 26 September 2026 (7:00 AM GMT+1)
Tell Me About The Fellowship
The Mercor Research Fellowship — APEX funds researchers to design new benchmarks, evaluation techniques, or economic studies that measure AI’s real‑world impact. Fellows pitch their own project idea and, if selected, receive funding, compute, expert labor, and mentorship to build and release it end‑to‑end.
Mercor is a Series C AI data company valued at $10B, with offices in San Francisco, London, and New York City. The fellowship is remote‑friendly but fellows may also work in‑person at Mercor’s San Francisco office.
Programme Details
- Duration: 3–6 months (rolling admission).
- Commitment: Minimum 30 hours/week; full‑time preferred.
- Location: Remote or in‑person (San Francisco).
- Admission: Fellowship is funded around your pitch, not a generic rotation.
Focus Areas
- APEX‑Agents – Long‑horizon tasks in law, finance, consulting.
- APEX‑SWE – Real‑world software engineering evaluation.
- APEX‑Accounting – Professional accounting and finance workflows.
- AI‑for‑Science – Mathematics, biology, materials science, physics.
- Economic benchmarks – Negotiation, management, and other hard‑to‑measure capabilities.
- Novel evaluation methods – Rubric design, contamination resistance, cost‑adjusted scoring.
- Economics of human data platforms – Pricing, matching, elasticity of supply/demand.
- AI Theory of the Firm – Empirical studies of AI‑native firms.
Who Can Apply
Applicants should have:
- Background in economics, CS, ML, statistics, or adjacent fields.
- A specific, well‑scoped idea for a benchmark, eval technique, or empirical study.
- Comfort in a startup environment with fast iteration.
- Commitment of at least 30 hours/week.
- Bonus: experience in agentic evaluation, RL environments, or domain expertise in law, finance, medicine, or science.
Benefits
- 3‑month stipend: $40,000.
- 6‑month stipend: $80,000.
- Unlimited API credits + GPU compute budget.
- Paid expert/human‑data time.
- Weekly 1:1 mentorship with APEX research team.
- Access to Mercor’s marketplace and proprietary data.
- Optional desk in San Francisco office.
- Introductions to Mercor’s research network.
- Standout fellows considered for full‑time offers.
Required Documents
- Application form.
- Research pitch (benchmark/eval/economic study).
- Resume.
How to Apply
- Prepare a specific pitch for a benchmark, evaluation technique, or economic study.
- Submit application before 26 September 2026.
- Selected fellows will work directly with Mercor’s APEX research team.
👉 Visit the application webpage for details
