Surge AI: profile, pricing model and alternatives
Surge AI is a data labeling company that provides human-written and human-rated RLHF and evaluation data to AI labs.
Surge AI at a glance
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Type | Expert data lab |
| Founded | 2020 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, US |
| Website | surgehq.ai |
| Data types | RLHF and preference data, Supervised fine-tuning data, Evaluation sets |
| Pricing models | Per-task, Per-hour expert labor, Project contract |
| Buyers | Frontier AI labs |
| Supply side | Closed workforce; not a marketplace. |
What Surge AI offers
- RLHF and preference data
- Human evaluation
- Custom expert data projects
Reported facts about Surge AI
Surge AI is reported to be bootstrapped and to have passed $1 billion in annual revenue in 2024; in July 2025 Reuters reported it was seeking up to $1 billion at a valuation above $15 billion, and Bloomberg reported talks at $25 billion or more. No closed round has been confirmed.
Source: Reported by Reuters and Bloomberg. As of July 2025.
Strengths and limits of Surge AI
Strengths
- Reputation for quality in RLHF work
- Capital-light, founder-controlled
Limits
- Little public detail on pricing or process
- Revenue and valuation figures are press reports, not filings
Compare Surge AI
- Surge AI alternatives
- Scale AI vs Surge AI (expert data lab)
- Surge AI vs Mercor (expert talent marketplace)
Frequently asked questions
- What is Surge AI?
- Surge AI is a data labeling company that provides human-written and human-rated RLHF and evaluation data to AI labs.
- How does Surge AI price its data?
- Surge AI uses these pricing models: Per-task, Per-hour expert labor, Project contract. Exact prices are generally quoted per engagement and are not published.
- Who buys from Surge AI?
- Frontier AI labs.
- What are alternatives to Surge AI?
- Alternatives include Scale AI, Mercor, Turing. See the full list of Surge AI alternatives for a ranked comparison.
Editorial note. No company listed here pays for placement or has reviewed its entry. AI Data Auction is building its own auction marketplace and will label any commercial relationship with a listed company. Figures are as reported by the named source on the stated date; check the primary source before relying on them. See our methodology.