# Expert networks for AI training

URL: https://aidataforsale.com/compare/expert-networks-for-ai-training
Publisher: AI Data For Sale (Marketing Signals Ltd)
Updated: 2026-11-10

Where AI labs find doctors, lawyers, scientists and engineers to create training data: Mercor, Labelbox Alignerr, Scale AI, Surge AI and Prolific compared.

AI labs now pay professionals to write and judge training data. These are the main ways they find them.

## In short

- Mercor reported over 30,000 experts earning an average of more than $85 an hour.
- Scale AI said about 12% of its contractors hold a PhD and about 40% a master's, law degree or MBA.
- Firms that already hold years of expert work product can license it instead of commissioning it.

## The networks

| Network | How it works | Published detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Mercor](https://aidataforsale.com/companies/mercor) | Matches labs with experts; hourly finder's fee and matching rate | 30,000+ experts; average over $85 an hour; $1.5 million+ paid daily |
| [Labelbox Alignerr](https://aidataforsale.com/companies/labelbox) | Vetted experts hired through Alignerr Connect | Not published |
| [Scale AI](https://aidataforsale.com/companies/scale-ai) | Expert contractors writing RL problems | About 12% PhD; about 40% master's, law degree or MBA |
| [Surge AI](https://aidataforsale.com/companies/surge-ai) | Expert annotators for RLHF and RL environments | Customers include Anthropic and OpenAI |
| [Prolific](https://aidataforsale.com/companies/prolific) | Screened participants for evaluation | Not published |

Sources: [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/27/mercor-quintuples-valuation-to-10b-with-350M-series-c/), [SiliconANGLE](https://siliconangle.com/2025/06/08/report-meta-holding-talks-10b-investment-data-labeling-startup-scale-ai/), [Labelbox](https://labelbox.com/blog/announcing-labelbox-alignerr-connect-with-proven-ai-experts/), [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surge_AI), [Prolific](https://www.prolific.com/model-evaluation).

## For professional firms

The pay rates show what labs will spend on expert reasoning. A firm with years of its own templates, guidance and (with consent) de-identified work may be able to license it. Read [AI data licensing for professional services firms](https://aidataforsale.com/sell-data-to-ai/professional-services-firms).

## Read next

- [Mercor vs Scale AI](https://aidataforsale.com/compare/mercor-vs-scale-ai)
- [Expert-annotated data](https://aidataforsale.com/data/expert-annotated-data)

## Questions

### How much do AI training experts earn?

TechCrunch reported Mercor's experts earn an average of over $85 an hour.

## Sources

- [TechCrunch: Mercor quintuples valuation to $10B with $350M Series C (October 2025)](https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/27/mercor-quintuples-valuation-to-10b-with-350M-series-c/)
- [SiliconANGLE: Meta reportedly in talks on $10B+ investment in Scale AI (June 2025)](https://siliconangle.com/2025/06/08/report-meta-holding-talks-10b-investment-data-labeling-startup-scale-ai/)
- [Labelbox: Announcing Labelbox Alignerr Connect](https://labelbox.com/blog/announcing-labelbox-alignerr-connect-with-proven-ai-experts/)
- [Wikipedia: Surge AI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surge_AI)
- [Prolific: Human evaluation for AI models](https://www.prolific.com/model-evaluation)