Mercor Research Fellowship APEX 2026: Earn Up to $80,000 to Build the Next Generation of AI Benchmarks and Economic Research

Overview

The Mercor Research Fellowship — APEX is designed for researchers, economists, computer scientists, and domain experts interested in the future of artificial intelligence evaluation and economic research. Rather than joining a predefined project, fellows pitch their own research proposal centered on developing new AI benchmarks, evaluation methodologies, or empirical economic studies.

Participants can choose between a three-month fellowship with a $40,000 stipend or a six-month fellowship with an $80,000 stipend. Fellows may participate remotely or work in person from Mercor’s San Francisco office, committing at least 30 hours per week.

Benefits

• Financial compensation ranging from $40,000 to $80,000
• Unlimited API credits and dedicated GPU computing budget
• Paid expert and human-data support
• Weekly individual mentorship from the APEX research team
• Access to frontier AI models, proprietary marketplace data, and evaluation infrastructure
• Potential full-time employment opportunities upon completion

Eligibility

The program is suitable for independent researchers, academics taking leave, PhD students, and professionals with specialized knowledge in fields such as economics, computer science, machine learning, law, finance, accounting, and scientific research. Applicants must be able to commit a minimum of 30 hours per week and possess a concrete, well-scoped research proposal.

How to Apply

Applicants must submit a detailed project proposal outlining a specific research problem, methodology, expected outputs, and relevant expertise. Applications are submitted online through the official Mercor application portal.

Deadline

Applications must be submitted by September 26, 2026, at 9:00 AM GMT+3.