Indian-American ‘Desi’ School Friends Become World’s Youngest Self-Made Billionaires: In a remarkable turn of events, three childhood friends — Brendan Foody, Adarsh Hiremath, and Surya Midha — have become the world’s youngest self-made billionaires at just 22 years old, surpassing the record previously held by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who first appeared on the list at 23.
Their company, Mercor, an AI-powered recruiting startup based in San Francisco, has taken the tech world by storm. According to Forbes, Mercor recently secured $350 million in fresh funding, valuing the startup at a staggering $10 billion. This latest valuation officially catapulted Foody (CEO), Hiremath (CTO), and Midha (Board Chairman) into the billionaire ranks.
Transitioning from high school dreamers to Silicon Valley power players, the trio’s journey is nothing short of extraordinary. They now join the elite group of young tech entrepreneurs who have reshaped the business landscape in their twenties. Mercor’s rise follows that of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan (27) and Scale AI’s Alexandr Wang (28) — both of whom made headlines for their rapid ascent to billionaire status.
From Debate Team to Billionaire Boardroom
Two of Mercor’s founders, Adarsh Hiremath and Surya Midha, share a strong Indian-American heritage and a deep-rooted friendship that began at Bellarmine College Preparatory, an all-boys high school in San Jose, California. Known for their sharp intellect and teamwork, the duo made history by becoming the first pair to win all three national policy debate tournaments in a single year.
Their paths, though different academically, eventually converged again through Mercor. Hiremath, born to Indian-origin parents, studied computer science at Harvard University before dropping out to focus full-time on Mercor. “If I weren’t working on Mercor, I would’ve just graduated college a few months ago,” he told Forbes. “My life did such a 180 in such a short period of time.”
Meanwhile, Surya Midha, a second-generation Indian-American, pursued a degree in Foreign Studies at Georgetown University, where he met Brendan Foody, who was studying economics. Both Midha and Foody dropped out around the same time as Hiremath to fully commit to building Mercor.
All three visionaries are Thiel Fellows, part of the elite entrepreneurship program founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, which encourages young innovators to drop out of college and pursue transformative ideas.
The Mercor Vision
Founded in 2021, Mercor leverages artificial intelligence to transform the global recruitment industry. The platform connects employers with top-tier talent by automating job matching and streamlining hiring processes — a revolutionary approach that has drawn the attention of investors worldwide.
Hiremath describes Mercor’s mission as “aggregating global labor efficiently through AI,” positioning the company at the intersection of technology, employment, and innovation. Their vision reflects an ambitious belief that labor aggregation will define the 21st-century economy.
A New Generation of Tech Titans
With their names now etched among the world’s youngest billionaires, Foody, Hiremath, and Midha represent a new wave of ‘Desi’ and American innovation — young, diverse, and fearlessly ambitious. Their success story echoes the global rise of Indian-origin entrepreneurs shaping the technology frontier, from Silicon Valley to Wall Street.
As Mercor continues to grow, the three friends remain focused on expanding the company’s global footprint while proving that age — and even a college degree — is no barrier to visionary success.
