Docs: US data labeling companies, like Surge AI and Mercor, that sell training datasets to US AI labs and the government are also selling them to Chinese labs (Anna Tong/Forbes)
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- Surge AI and Mercor, two Silicon Valley data labeling startups, sell AI training datasets to US AI labs — including OpenAI and Anthropic — and to the US government, while simultaneously selling to Chinese labs, per documents reviewed by Forbes.
- The overlap means datasets used to train frontier American models are also feeding Chinese AI development, according to the same documentation.
Why it matters: US AI labs and the federal government are funding the same data supply chain that trains Chinese models, creating a structural conflict with export-control rhetoric aimed at slowing China's AI progress. Companies holding US government contracts are directly enabling rival systems, raising questions about procurement oversight in the AI training pipeline.
