Expert network · Invite-only expert data
Deccan AI (Soul AI)
Deccan AI (Soul AI) sits at the high-skill end, with domain specialists producing frontier-grade SFT/RLHF data, RL environments, and eval suites. Access is invite-based rather than an open job board.
Third-party reports
Is Deccan AI (Soul AI) legit?
Researched Nov 2026 · 6 sourcesMostly. Deccan AI (Deccan.ai, Inc.) is a real AI data company that raised a $25 million Series A in March 2026 and pays contributors twice a month, but entry is by invite from a waitlist and most of its work goes to India. Getting in and getting hours are both uncertain: applications sit on a waitlist until shortlisted, and the few public reviews describe little work, approved tasks paid late or rejected after approval, and pay rules changed without notice. It pays ~$10-$700/hr by its founder's account; rates set per project (third-party reports).
Joined through its own application (it publishes no job postings)
Rukesh Reddy (IIT Bombay, IIM Ahmedabad) founded Deccan in October 2024 to supply post-training data, evaluations and RL environments to AI labs. Based in the Bay Area with a large team in Hyderabad, it told TechCrunch (25 Mar 2026) its customers include Google DeepMind and Snowflake as it raised $25 million led by A91 Partners, with SIG and Prosus Ventures. Its 18 May 2026 terms are a contract with Deccan.ai, Inc., a Delaware company, and its Indian arm.
Projects pay per task, per hour or both, with rates shared before you start. Payouts run on the 2nd and 17th of each month, in US dollars to PayPal or in rupees by NEFT bank transfer, once your ID, bank account and tax form (W-9 or W-8BEN) are verified (help center, read 2 Nov 2026). You work as an independent contractor.
Trustpilot 2.8/5 (3 reviews). Read November 2026.
India-first: most contributors are in India, and Deccan has begun sourcing in a few other markets, including the US for niche geospatial and semiconductor-design skills (its founder to TechCrunch, 25 Mar 2026). It publishes no country list; its help center has bank forms for India, the US and SWIFT countries elsewhere (read 2 Nov 2026).
We found no reports of fake recruiters using Deccan's name (searched 2 Nov 2026). Sign-up is only Continue with Google at authentication.deccanexperts.ai, and support is support@deccanexperts.ai or tickets inside the platform. Deccan warns that real support never asks for verification codes or full bank credentials. Never pay to join.
What people praise
- Deccan's help center gives fixed payout dates (the 2nd and 17th) and an activity log showing the tasks, pay per task and gross earning behind every payment, with a Get Help button on each one.
- Its training and evaluation stage, before paid project work, is described as hands-on real work that is usually paid.
What people complain about
- A Trustpilot reviewer (13 May 2026) says they got only 6 to 7 hours of work in 5 months, were not paid for it, and kept hitting problems updating bank details.
- Another (7 Jun 2026) says approved tasks are not paid within the agreed timeline and some tasks are rejected after approval.
- A third (29 Jul 2026) says deadlines and pay rules change without notice, payments are held under review and support sends copy-pasted replies; Deccan had replied to no review by 2 Nov 2026.
- Deccan's terms (updated 18 May 2026) let it withhold, reverse or deny pay when a customer rejects the work or quality is judged deficient, and say project work is not guaranteed.
Best for: Graduates, PhDs and domain experts, especially in India, who can wait on a waitlist and want part-time prompt writing, ranking and evaluation work paid twice a month in dollars or rupees. Not for: Anyone who needs steady hours or a quick start, wants to see open roles and rates before applying, or does not have a Google account to sign up with.
Honest catches
- Pay here is third-party reports, not measured live from a job feed, so treat it as a benchmark rather than a guaranteed rate.
Sources for this review
- TechCrunch: Mercor competitor Deccan AI raises $25M, sources experts from India (25 Mar 2026, updated 30 Mar 2026)
- Deccan AI Experts: homepage and FAQ (invite pathway, waitlist, payment cycles, leadership, support email; read 2 Nov 2026)
- Deccan AI Experts: Help Center (sign-up, Work Authorisation, earnings, payouts, support; read 2 Nov 2026)
- Deccan.ai, Inc.: Terms of Service (last updated May 18, 2026; read 2 Nov 2026)
- Trustpilot: Deccan AI Experts reviews (2.8/5 from 3 reviews, read 2 Nov 2026)
- FTC Consumer Alert: That job offer text is probably a scam (30 Apr 2026)
What Deccan AI (Soul AI) pays
Third-party reports · as of 2026-11-02Researched rate card, third-party reports, as of 2026-11-02
No public rate card. Its expert site (deccanexperts.ai, read 2 Nov 2026) says payments vary by project, some task-based, others hourly and a few combined, with 'all payment details, rates, and cycles shared upfront' and 'Bi-weekly earnings in dollars'. The range here is its founder's: Rukesh Reddy told TechCrunch (25 Mar 2026) that 'earnings on Deccan's platform range from about $10 to $700 per hour, with top contributors earning up to $7,000 a month', across more than 1 million contributors of whom 5,000 to 10,000 are active in a typical month. Its homepage also links The Ken's 25 Jun 2025 story headlined 'Train AI models, earn up to $50/hr', which covers Turing, Mercor and Deccan AI together and is paywalled, so that $50 is not Deccan's own rate (this card used it as its top; corrected on 2 Nov 2026). Projects and their rates appear only after sign-in and approval.
| Role | Kind of work | Researched pay |
|---|---|---|
| Prompt & response creation (SFT expert) | Writing | rate shared with each project (task, hourly or both) |
| Preference ranking (RLHF) | AI Evaluation | rate shared with each project (task, hourly or both) |
| Coding / SWE specialist | Coding | rate shared with each project (task, hourly or both) |
Live Deccan AI (Soul AI) roles
Deccan AI (Soul AI) does not publish a public job feed.
You apply on Deccan AI (Soul AI) directly, then get matched to work from your account.
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The work Deccan AI (Soul AI) hires for
Each links to what the work involves, who hires for it, and what it pays across the market.
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How to get started on Deccan AI (Soul AI)
Researched Nov 2026Sign up at authentication.deccanexperts.ai with Continue with Google, verify your mobile number, upload your resume with your legal name and weekly availability, and submit: your application then waits in review until Deccan shortlists you for an induction, training and assessment, after which you complete Work Authorisation (ID, bank account, tax form) and are paid on the 2nd and 17th of each month.
Who can join
- Be at least 18, allowed to receive US services under export and sanctions rules, and keep only one account.
- A Google account: sign-up starts with Continue with Google, and Deccan's help center describes no other sign-up method.
- A resume, your professional details and your weekly availability, with your full legal name exactly as it appears on your government ID.
- A government ID, a bank account in your own legal name and a tax form (a W-9 in the US, a W-8BEN elsewhere) before any payout. In India you also give your PAN during onboarding, and it cannot be changed after submission.
- Skills that fit a live project. Deccan values analytical thinking, attention to detail, reasoning, writing and critical thinking, and says specific requirements vary by project.
Step by step
- 1
Sign up with Google
Go to deccanexperts.ai, click Apply Now and select Continue with Google at authentication.deccanexperts.ai. Your email is verified through Google and you move on to mobile verification.
- 2
Verify your mobile number
Enter your number and confirm it with the 4-digit code sent to your phone. International users are not asked to verify it; Deccan only records the number.
- 3
Complete your account setup
Upload your resume and add your professional details, including your full legal name and weekly availability. Enter your name exactly as it appears on your government ID, because it is used for identity checks and payouts later.
- 4
Submit and wait on the In Review page
Your account is created and Deccan's team evaluates your application. Some features stay locked until Deccan tells you your status.
- 5
Keep your profile specific
Matching runs on your profile: add your experience, education, skills, languages and links (LinkedIn, portfolio or GitHub, under Other Details). Deccan says a specific line such as 'Senior backend engineer, 7 years in distributed systems' outperforms 'software developer'.
- 6
Induction, then training and assessment
If you are shortlisted, Deccan contacts you for training and assessment before placing you on paid projects. Its pathway runs from profile evaluation to an invitation, an induction session and a training and evaluation stage of real work that is usually paid.
- 7
Complete Work Authorisation
Under Profile, then Work Authorisation, verify your government ID, add bank details (account number with IFSC in India, ABA routing in the US, SWIFT elsewhere) and submit the tax form. The help center says the tax form unlocks once your ID is submitted, and its FAQ says it stays locked until your ID and bank details are processed (read 2 Nov 2026). Payouts only process once Work Authorisation is complete.
- 8
Work on projects and get paid twice a month
Rates and payment cycles are shared before each project. Payouts process on the 2nd and 17th of each month, to your verified bank account by NEFT or to PayPal; the Earnings page shows each payment and the tasks behind it.
Shortlist, induction, then project training and assessment
Deccan first evaluates your profile from the waitlist. If you are shortlisted, it contacts you for training and assessment before placing you on paid projects, and its help center says assessments turn your profile into qualifications. Projects can add their own proctoring.
Format
Set per project. Deccan's pathway is profile evaluation, an invitation, an induction session, then a training and evaluation stage of real work that is usually paid, before paid launch. Its terms allow project-specific proctoring, and where the project says so, screen, browser, webcam and microphone monitoring.
How to prepare
- Write your profile for matching: name your field, years of experience and specific skills rather than a general job title.
- Add LinkedIn, portfolio or GitHub links so reviewers can check your background faster.
- Enter your legal name exactly as on your ID from the start: identity, contracts and payouts all follow it.
- Expect the core task types Deccan describes: preference ranking with a written justification, step-by-step trajectory evaluation, and writing prompt and response pairs.
- Read each project's instructions and monitoring rules before you start; tasks can be rejected for quality or rule breaks.
Why people get rejected
- Not a rejection: most applications simply stay on the waitlist until a project needs that profile.
- A thin or generic profile, which Deccan says leaves you invisible to roles you would otherwise qualify for.
- A name that differs between your profile, ID and bank account, which delays verification and payouts.
- Work judged deficient, rejected by the customer or done with unauthorised tools, which Deccan's terms let it reject or not pay.
Deccan gives no review time. It says the wait for an invite depends on your profile and the information you provide, and that all applications remain on its waitlist until they are shortlisted. Even if you are not selected right away, your request keeps you in consideration for future opportunities.
Projects pay per task, per hour or a mix, and the rate and cycle are shared up front. Payouts process on the 2nd and 17th of each month, to your verified bank account by NEFT or to PayPal, and only once your government ID, bank details and tax form are verified. If a payout has not arrived after a few business days, raise it with support quoting the payment reference.
Tips to get accepted
- Keep one account: Deccan's terms say you maintain only one account unless Deccan expressly authorizes more, and let it withhold payments over duplicate accounts.
- Check your bank details before you submit them: once your ID and bank details are in, changes need a support ticket, and Deccan says a name that does not match your ID and profile is the most common cause of payment delays.
- Read your activity logs in your first weeks on a project. They list each task, its pay and your gross earning, and are your evidence if a payment looks wrong.
- Raise one ticket per issue from Get Help in the sidebar, and follow up inside it rather than opening duplicates. Project task questions go to the project team, not support.
- Deccan also runs a waitlist for paid home recordings of chores (cooking, laundry, cleaning) with a phone in a head-band, and reimburses the band.
What isn't public
- Deccan publishes no rate card and no public list of open projects (its site, read 2 Nov 2026). Its founder told TechCrunch on 25 Mar 2026 that earnings range from about $10 to $700 an hour, with top contributors earning up to $7,000 a month. Its homepage links The Ken's 25 Jun 2025 story 'Train AI models, earn up to $50/hr', which covers Turing, Mercor and Deccan AI together and is behind a paywall, so the $50 is not shown to be Deccan's own rate.
- Deccan gives no review time, acceptance rate or reapply rule; applications stay on a waitlist until shortlisted.
- Deccan lists no supported or excluded countries. TechCrunch reports most contributors are in India and that Deccan has begun sourcing a few other markets, including the US for niche skills; its help center gives bank forms for India, the US and SWIFT countries.
- The help center names PayPal (in US dollars) and NEFT (in rupees) as payout methods; it does not say whether contributors outside India can be paid by bank transfer or only by PayPal.
- Deccan does not say which company runs its ID check, or how assessments are scored.
- Independent feedback is thin: on 2 November 2026 Trustpilot still showed 3 reviews (the newest from 29 July 2026). Reddit has a few threads from January to June 2026, in r/DeccanAI_Experts, r/AI_India and r/InternshipsIndia, as listed by startuphub.ai (read 2 Nov 2026). Reddit refused our fetch that day, so we read only their opening lines: on 13 January 2026 one applicant had heard nothing two weeks after applying.
- Deccan Experts was earlier branded Soul AI; soulhq.ai still redirected to deccanexperts.ai on 2 November 2026.
Sources (9)
- Deccan AI Experts: Help Center (sign-up, profile, Work Authorisation, earnings, referrals, support; read 2 Nov 2026)
- Deccan AI Experts: homepage and FAQ (invite pathway, waitlist, task types, payment cycles, press links; read 2 Nov 2026)
- Deccan AI Experts: Physical AI home-recording waitlist (read 2 Nov 2026)
- Deccan.ai, Inc.: Terms of Service (last updated May 18, 2026; read 2 Nov 2026)
- TechCrunch: Mercor competitor Deccan AI raises $25M, sources experts from India (25 Mar 2026, updated 30 Mar 2026)
- The Ken: Train AI models, earn up to $50/hr: these firms turn to Indian PhDs, techies, actors (25 Jun 2025, paywalled; headline and summary read 2 Nov 2026)
- Trustpilot: Deccan AI Experts reviews (2.8/5 from 3 reviews, read 2 Nov 2026)
- startuphub.ai: Deccan AI profile, listing Reddit posts from 13 Jan to 26 Jun 2026 (page updated 28 Jul 2026; read 2 Nov 2026)
- soulhq.ai (Soul AI's old address; redirects to deccanexperts.ai, checked 2 Nov 2026)
From the forum
Ask the people doing Deccan AI (Soul AI) work what only they can tell you.
Frequently asked questions
Is Deccan AI (Soul AI) legit?
Mostly. Deccan AI (Deccan.ai, Inc.) is a real AI data company that raised a $25 million Series A in March 2026 and pays contributors twice a month, but entry is by invite from a waitlist and most of its work goes to India. Getting in and getting hours are both uncertain: applications sit on a waitlist until shortlisted, and the few public reviews describe little work, approved tasks paid late or rejected after approval, and pay rules changed without notice.
Is Deccan AI (Soul AI) a scam?
No. Deccan AI (Soul AI) is a real company. We found no reports of fake recruiters using Deccan's name (searched 2 Nov 2026). Sign-up is only Continue with Google at authentication.deccanexperts.ai, and support is support@deccanexperts.ai or tickets inside the platform. Deccan warns that real support never asks for verification codes or full bank credentials. Never pay to join.
Does Deccan AI (Soul AI) pay?
Yes. Institutionally backed (a $25M Series A in March 2026 led by A91 Partners, with Google DeepMind and Snowflake as customers, the company told TechCrunch). Its 3 Trustpilot reviews (2.8/5, read 2 Nov 2026) report little work and late or withheld pay. Payouts: Twice a month, on or after the 2nd and the 17th: USD to PayPal or INR by NEFT bank transfer, once Work Authorisation (a government ID, a bank account in your legal name and a W-9 or W-8BEN tax form) is verified; contributors in India also give their PAN at onboarding (its help center, deccanexperts.ai/help-center, read 2 Nov 2026). Projects pay per task, per hour or a mix, and the rate and cycle are shared up front. Payouts process on the 2nd and 17th of each month, to your verified bank account by NEFT or to PayPal, and only once your government ID, bank details and tax form are verified. If a payout has not arrived after a few business days, raise it with support quoting the payment reference.
How much does Deccan AI (Soul AI) pay?
~$10-$700/hr by its founder's account; rates set per project. No public rate card. Its expert site (deccanexperts.ai, read 2 Nov 2026) says payments vary by project, some task-based, others hourly and a few combined, with 'all payment details, rates, and cycles shared upfront' and 'Bi-weekly earnings in dollars'. The range here is its founder's: Rukesh Reddy told TechCrunch (25 Mar 2026) that 'earnings on Deccan's platform range from about $10 to $700 per hour, with top contributors earning up to $7,000 a month', across more than 1 million contributors of whom 5,000 to 10,000 are active in a typical month. Its homepage also links The Ken's 25 Jun 2025 story headlined 'Train AI models, earn up to $50/hr', which covers Turing, Mercor and Deccan AI together and is paywalled, so that $50 is not Deccan's own rate (this card used it as its top; corrected on 2 Nov 2026). Projects and their rates appear only after sign-in and approval.
Is Deccan AI (Soul AI) worth it?
Deccan AI (Soul AI) pays ~$10-$700/hr by its founder's account; rates set per project (third-party reports). It rewards credentialed experts who clear its assessment far more than open generalist work. Worker sentiment: Trustpilot 2.8/5 (3 reviews).
How does Deccan AI (Soul AI) pay out?
Twice a month, on or after the 2nd and the 17th: USD to PayPal or INR by NEFT bank transfer, once Work Authorisation (a government ID, a bank account in your legal name and a W-9 or W-8BEN tax form) is verified; contributors in India also give their PAN at onboarding (its help center, deccanexperts.ai/help-center, read 2 Nov 2026).
Where can you work for Deccan AI (Soul AI)?
India-first: most contributors are in India, and Deccan has begun sourcing in a few other markets, including the US for niche geospatial and semiconductor-design skills (its founder to TechCrunch, 25 Mar 2026). It publishes no country list; its help center has bank forms for India, the US and SWIFT countries elsewhere (read 2 Nov 2026).
How do I sign up for Deccan AI Experts?
Click Apply Now on deccanexperts.ai and choose Continue with Google, verify your mobile number, then upload your resume and add your details, legal name and weekly availability. Your account then enters review.
Is Deccan AI Experts invite-only?
Yes. You request an invite, Deccan evaluates your profile, and if you meet its criteria you get an official invitation. All applications stay on its waitlist until they are shortlisted.
How long does it take to get an invite from Deccan?
Deccan does not say. It depends on your profile and the information you provide, and a request that is not picked at first stays in consideration for future opportunities.
When does Deccan AI pay?
Twice a month. Payouts process on the 2nd and 17th of each month, to your verified bank account by NEFT or to PayPal, once your ID, bank details and tax form are verified.
How much does Deccan AI pay?
Deccan publishes no rates: each project states its rate before you start. Its founder told TechCrunch on 25 Mar 2026 that earnings range from about $10 to $700 an hour, with top contributors earning up to $7,000 a month.
What tax form does Deccan AI ask for?
A W-9 in the United States and a W-8BEN everywhere else, as the last step of Work Authorisation. Contributors in India also give their PAN during onboarding.
What is Soul AI?
Soul AI was Deccan's earlier contributor brand. On 2 November 2026 soulhq.ai still redirected to deccanexperts.ai, which is run by Deccan.ai, Inc.
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