Amid rising concerns over data security, Meta has reportedly halted its engagement with AI recruitment firm Mercor after the latter faced a cyberattack leading to a potential large-scale data breach.
According to a report, the pause in collaboration is indefinite. Sources indicate that other major AI companies are also reassessing their partnerships with Mercor following the incident. Meta was reportedly one of the startup’s largest clients.
Founded in 2023, Mercor specialises in hiring subject matter experts who evaluate and validate outputs generated by large language models. The company has worked with leading AI firms, including OpenAI and Anthropic, supporting quality checks and performance improvements. In October 2025, Mercor raised $350 million (approx. Rs. 3,257 crore) in a Series C round, reaching a valuation of $10 billion (approx. Rs. 93,067 crore).
In a statement, Mercor said it was impacted by a supply chain attack involving LiteLLM. “We are conducting a thorough investigation supported by leading third-party forensics experts. We will continue to communicate with our customers and contractors directly as appropriate and devote the resources necessary to resolving the matter as soon as possible,” the company stated.
Meanwhile, a cybercrime tracking platform shared a screenshot allegedly linked to the LAPSUS$ Group, which claimed responsibility for the attack. The group reportedly said it had stolen nearly 4TB of data, including 211GB of database, 939GB of source code, and 3TB of bucket data, and is attempting to auction it. However, these claims have not been independently verified.
Mercor is currently investigating the breach, as concerns grow over supply chain vulnerabilities and data security risks in the AI ecosystem.
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