Meta invests $14.3 billion in startup Scale AI

After launching the Llama 4 model, Meta is directing $14.3 billion to purchase a stake in Scale AI and hiring its CEO, Alexandr Wang.

Meta is acquiring a 49% stake in Scale AI, and Wang will join Meta and report directly to Mark Zuckerberg. He will also retain his seat on Scale's board of directors and lead Meta's new AI laboratory, which will focus on developing "superintelligence."

Zuckerberg personally recruits specialists from competing companies, offering them jobs directly via email or WhatsApp messages. Some candidates are offered compensation in the seven- and eight-figure range, luring them away from companies like Google.

Scale collaborates with Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, and others—the company helps train models by providing data labeling and annotation services. Most of this work is performed outside the United States using low-paid labor. Such processes have become a key element in AI development.

With Wang's departure to Meta, Jason Drog, the company's former director of strategy, will become acting CEO of Scale.

The proceeds from the deal with Meta will be distributed among shareholders and option holders, who will retain the opportunity to participate in the company's future growth.

Meta is not acquiring Scale outright, following the strategy of major tech companies—to attract key specialists and invest in startups to reduce antitrust risks. Nevertheless, the deal will likely be reviewed by regulatory authorities: Meta is acquiring a non-voting stake.

Earlier this year, Scale signed a contract with the Pentagon to launch the first-of-its-kind AI program for U.S. military planning. The company has also expanded its cooperation with other governments: it recently signed a five-year contract with Qatar to supply AI tools. In the coming quarters, sales in Asian and European markets are expected to make up a significant portion of Scale's revenue.

Last month, Zuckerberg named two key priorities for Meta in 2025: to make Meta AI—the ChatGPT equivalent—the "leading personal AI" and to create a full general intelligence. According to him, Meta AI has already reached one billion monthly users, although this figure is largely due to the integration of the assistant into Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook.

In April, Meta released a standalone Meta AI app with a social feed where users share how they use AI.

Source: The Verge