Data-labeling startup Scale AI confirmed on Friday that it has received a substantial investment from Meta, placing the company’s valuation at approximately $29 billion. Alongside the investment announcement, Scale AI also disclosed that Alexandr Wang, co-founder and current CEO, will be stepping down from his position to join Meta, where he will be instrumental in advancing the tech giant’s artificial intelligence initiatives.
According to reports, Meta has committed about $14.3 billion for a 49% ownership stake in Scale AI. The startup specializes in producing and labeling datasets essential for training large language models, a cornerstone technology in the expanding field of generative AI.
A spokesperson for Meta acknowledged the strategic investment, noting, “Meta has finalized our strategic partnership and investment in Scale AI. Through this engagement, we will deepen our collaboration around data acquisition for AI models. Alexandr Wang will be joining our team to contribute to our superintelligence efforts. We look forward to sharing additional details about the initiative and the talented individuals joining our team in the near future.”
Following the departure of Wang, Scale AI’s Chief Strategy Officer, Jason Droege, will assume the role of interim CEO. The company confirmed that the fresh funding from Meta will be utilized to compensate shareholders and investors, while also supporting further business growth. Scale AI stressed that, despite this sizable investment, the firm will retain independent operations. Wang will retain a role in the company as a member of its board of directors.
Meta’s decision to invest significantly in Scale AI signals an effort by the company to keep pace with rivals such as Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic in the high-stakes race to develop advanced AI models and tools. Recently, Meta has been trying to manage the implications of a notable talent drain to competing AI labs. Data from an industry analysis by SignalFire indicated that Meta lost approximately 4.3% of its key AI personnel to rival institutions last year.
In the competitive AI landscape, firms like OpenAI and others have extensively relied on Scale AI and similar service providers to furnish high-quality labeled data necessary for training cutting-edge machine-learning models. Over the past several months, these data annotation firms have ramped up hiring of specialized talent, including doctoral-level researchers and experienced software engineers, to meet rising demand from the AI industry’s leading companies.
The substantial Meta investment follows a previous round completed just last year, when Scale AI raised $1 billion from investors including Amazon and Meta, at a valuation of $13.8 billion.
