It’s not immediately clear how the Lapsus$ gang obtained the stolen data from Mercor as part of TeamPCP’s cyberattack.

Founded in 2023, Mercor works with companies, including OpenAI and Anthropic, to train AI models by contracting specialized domain experts such as scientists, doctors, and lawyers from markets, including India. The startup says it facilitates more than $2 million in daily payouts and was valued at $10 billion following a $350 million Series C round led by Felicis Ventures in October 2025.

Mercor spokesperson Heidi Hagberg confirmed to TechCrunch that the company had “moved promptly” to contain and remediate the security incident.

“We are conducting a thorough investigation supported by leading third-party forensics experts,” said Hagberg. “We will continue to communicate with our customers and contractors directly as appropriate and devote the resources necessary to resolving the matter as soon as possible.”