Meta invests in Scale AI, hires founder

Meta announced late Thursday a “significant” new investment in the artificial intelligence startup Scale AI, valuing the company at more than $29 billion and bringing its founder Alexandr Wang to work for the tech giant.

According to Scale AI, the deal involves Meta investing over $10 billion in the San Francisco-based company. As part of the agreement, Wang, 28, will join Meta to contribute to its AI development efforts amid intense competition with rivals including OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft.

Scale AI collaborates with businesses, governments, and research labs to harness the benefits of artificial intelligence, the startup said.

“Meta’s investment recognizes Scale’s accomplishments to date and reaffirms that our path forward — like that of AI — is limitless,” Wang said in a statement.

“Scale bridges the gap between human values and technology to help our customers realize AI’s full potential.”

The startup plans to use the fresh capital to accelerate innovation, strengthen partnerships, and distribute proceeds to equity holders.

Following the investment, Meta will hold a minority stake in Scale AI.

Jason Droege, a tech veteran and investor known as a co-founder of the Uber Eats food delivery platform, will take over as CEO of Scale AI, the company announced.

“Scale has led the charge in accelerating AI development,” Droege said. “We have built the strongest foundation to tackle AI’s data challenges and push the boundaries of what’s possible.”

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently highlighted the company’s generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) assistant, saying it is used by a billion people monthly across Meta’s platforms.