HomeMeta makes major investment in Scale AI as CEO Alex Wang announces departure
Data-labeling firm Scale AI confirmed on Friday it has secured a substantial investment from Meta, valuing the startup at $29 billion. The company also announced that its co-founder and CEO, Alexandr Wang, is stepping down to join Meta and assist with its artificial intelligence initiatives.
Reports suggest Meta invested approximately $14.3 billion for a 49% stake in the startup. Scale AI specializes in producing and labeling the data used to train the large language models that power a major share of generative AI development.
Meta has confirmed the strategic investment. A company spokesperson told TechCrunch, "Meta has finalized our strategic partnership and investment in Scale AI. As part of this, we will deepen our collaboration on producing data for AI models, and Alexandr Wang will join Meta to contribute to our superintelligence efforts. We will share more details about this initiative and the talented individuals joining the team in the coming weeks."
Scale AI's current Chief Strategy Officer, Jason Droege, will step in as interim CEO. The company stated that Meta's investment will be used to compensate investors and shareholders while also fueling future growth. Scale AI emphasized it will remain an independent entity, with Wang continuing as a director on its board.
As noted by my colleague Max Zeff earlier this week, this investment represents a strategic move by Meta to bolster its AI capabilities. This comes as rivals like Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic advance rapidly, while Meta's own AI model releases have lagged. Furthermore, according to data from SignalFire, the company lost 4.3% of its top AI talent to competing labs last year.
For several years, leading AI labs, including OpenAI, have depended on Scale AI to produce and label training data for their models. Recently, Scale AI and its competitors in data annotation have begun recruiting highly skilled professionals, such as PhD scientists and senior software engineers, to create premium data for cutting-edge AI laboratories.
This development follows Scale AI's $1 billion funding round last year, which included investments from Amazon and Meta and valued the company at $13.8 billion.
Related article
Meta AI now responds to buyer messages on Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace introduces new Meta AI features, including automated replies to buyer inquiries, the company announced Thursday. The platform also leverages AI to accelerate item listings, summarize seller profiles, and now lets sellers offer sh
Meta signs deal for millions of Amazon AI CPUs
Amazon has secured a significant partnership with Meta, once again relying on its own custom-designed chips. Meta has agreed to deploy millions of AWS Graviton chips to meet its expanding AI demands, Amazon confirmed on Friday.Note that AWS Graviton
Meta's natural gas surge may fuel South Dakota's power grid
Data centers have grown so massive that their electricity consumption now matches that of entire U.S. states. Consider Meta's Hyperion AI data center: once finished, it will consume as much power as South Dakota.Meta recently announced funding for se
Related Special Topic Recommendations
Video creation
Top AI Video Creators for Podcasters: Convert Audio Waves into Engaging Talking-Head Videos
Discover the 2026 best AI video creators for podcasters at XIX.AI. Our curated, top-rated list features powerful tools that convert your audio into engaging talking-head videos effortlessly. Compare free vs paid options with real-world tests and weekly updated rankings. Unlock your visual storytelling edge now.
10 tools
xix.ai
chatbot
Create Your Own AI Love Story with These Roleplay Tools
Discover the 2026 latest top-rated AI roleplay tools for crafting immersive narratives. XIX.AI's curated list features powerful, game-changing assistants to unlock creative storytelling and emotional depth. Compare free vs paid options with real-world tests. Start your unique journey today.
10 tools
xix.ai
Text-to-speech
Top AI Voice Tools for Indie Game Devs: Save Time on Voice Acting for RPGs and Visual Novels
Discover the 2026 best AI voice tools for game devs! XIX.AI's curated list features top-rated, game-changing solutions to save you time and money on voice acting for RPGs and visual novels. Explore free vs paid comparisons, real-world tests, and weekly updated rankings. Find your perfect voice tool today!
10 tools
xix.ai
Education and Learning
Best AI Spaced Repetition Tools: Optimize Study Schedules for Medical & Law Students
Discover the 2026 best AI spaced repetition tools, curated by XIX.AI. Our top-rated, game-changing picks help medical and law students optimize study schedules for maximum retention. Compare free vs paid options with real-world tests and weekly updated rankings. Unlock your learning edge now.
10 tools
xix.ai
Video creation
Best AI Text to Video Platforms for Script Writing and Visual Storytelling
2026 Latest Best AI Text to Video Platforms: Top-rated tools for script writing and visual storytelling. Discover powerful, game-changing solutions to transform your text into engaging videos. Compare free vs paid options with our weekly updated rankings and real-world tests. Find your perfect platform to boost creativity and productivity. Explore the curated selection at XIX.AI.
10 tools
xix.ai
chatbot
AI Multi-Agent Orchestrators: Design Complex Automated Workflows through Natural Language
2026 Latest: Discover the best AI multi-agent orchestrators to design complex automated workflows through natural language. Our curated list features top-rated, powerful platforms for seamless task automation and intelligent process management. Compare free vs paid options with real-world insights. Unlock your AI edge with XIX.AI's expert weekly updated rankings.
10 tools
xix.ai
Comments (1)
0/500
![BillyYoung]()
Мета вкладывается в Scale AI, пока тот теряет своего главу? 🤔 Это выглядит как прямая тактика найма «покупай команду». Цена в 29 млрд долларов поражает, но что это за «значительные инвестиции» — стратегическое партнерство или просто покупка мозгов? Небольшой стартап вдруг оказывается в центре большой игры.
Data-labeling firm Scale AI confirmed on Friday it has secured a substantial investment from Meta, valuing the startup at $29 billion. The company also announced that its co-founder and CEO, Alexandr Wang, is stepping down to join Meta and assist with its artificial intelligence initiatives.
Reports suggest Meta invested approximately $14.3 billion for a 49% stake in the startup. Scale AI specializes in producing and labeling the data used to train the large language models that power a major share of generative AI development.
Meta has confirmed the strategic investment. A company spokesperson told TechCrunch, "Meta has finalized our strategic partnership and investment in Scale AI. As part of this, we will deepen our collaboration on producing data for AI models, and Alexandr Wang will join Meta to contribute to our superintelligence efforts. We will share more details about this initiative and the talented individuals joining the team in the coming weeks."
Scale AI's current Chief Strategy Officer, Jason Droege, will step in as interim CEO. The company stated that Meta's investment will be used to compensate investors and shareholders while also fueling future growth. Scale AI emphasized it will remain an independent entity, with Wang continuing as a director on its board.
As noted by my colleague Max Zeff earlier this week, this investment represents a strategic move by Meta to bolster its AI capabilities. This comes as rivals like Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic advance rapidly, while Meta's own AI model releases have lagged. Furthermore, according to data from SignalFire, the company lost 4.3% of its top AI talent to competing labs last year.
For several years, leading AI labs, including OpenAI, have depended on Scale AI to produce and label training data for their models. Recently, Scale AI and its competitors in data annotation have begun recruiting highly skilled professionals, such as PhD scientists and senior software engineers, to create premium data for cutting-edge AI laboratories.
This development follows Scale AI's $1 billion funding round last year, which included investments from Amazon and Meta and valued the company at $13.8 billion.
Meta AI now responds to buyer messages on Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace introduces new Meta AI features, including automated replies to buyer inquiries, the company announced Thursday. The platform also leverages AI to accelerate item listings, summarize seller profiles, and now lets sellers offer sh
Meta signs deal for millions of Amazon AI CPUs
Amazon has secured a significant partnership with Meta, once again relying on its own custom-designed chips. Meta has agreed to deploy millions of AWS Graviton chips to meet its expanding AI demands, Amazon confirmed on Friday.Note that AWS Graviton
Meta's natural gas surge may fuel South Dakota's power grid
Data centers have grown so massive that their electricity consumption now matches that of entire U.S. states. Consider Meta's Hyperion AI data center: once finished, it will consume as much power as South Dakota.Meta recently announced funding for se
Discover the 2026 best AI video creators for podcasters at XIX.AI. Our curated, top-rated list features powerful tools that convert your audio into engaging talking-head videos effortlessly. Compare free vs paid options with real-world tests and weekly updated rankings. Unlock your visual storytelling edge now.
10 tools
xix.ai
Discover the 2026 latest top-rated AI roleplay tools for crafting immersive narratives. XIX.AI's curated list features powerful, game-changing assistants to unlock creative storytelling and emotional depth. Compare free vs paid options with real-world tests. Start your unique journey today.
10 tools
xix.ai
Discover the 2026 best AI voice tools for game devs! XIX.AI's curated list features top-rated, game-changing solutions to save you time and money on voice acting for RPGs and visual novels. Explore free vs paid comparisons, real-world tests, and weekly updated rankings. Find your perfect voice tool today!
10 tools
xix.ai
Discover the 2026 best AI spaced repetition tools, curated by XIX.AI. Our top-rated, game-changing picks help medical and law students optimize study schedules for maximum retention. Compare free vs paid options with real-world tests and weekly updated rankings. Unlock your learning edge now.
10 tools
xix.ai
2026 Latest Best AI Text to Video Platforms: Top-rated tools for script writing and visual storytelling. Discover powerful, game-changing solutions to transform your text into engaging videos. Compare free vs paid options with our weekly updated rankings and real-world tests. Find your perfect platform to boost creativity and productivity. Explore the curated selection at XIX.AI.
10 tools
xix.ai
2026 Latest: Discover the best AI multi-agent orchestrators to design complex automated workflows through natural language. Our curated list features top-rated, powerful platforms for seamless task automation and intelligent process management. Compare free vs paid options with real-world insights. Unlock your AI edge with XIX.AI's expert weekly updated rankings.
10 tools
xix.ai
Мета вкладывается в Scale AI, пока тот теряет своего главу? 🤔 Это выглядит как прямая тактика найма «покупай команду». Цена в 29 млрд долларов поражает, но что это за «значительные инвестиции» — стратегическое партнерство или просто покупка мозгов? Небольшой стартап вдруг оказывается в центре большой игры.
