Meta Eyes Massive Investment in Scale AI, Potentially Exceeding $10 Billion
In a move that could significantly reshape the AI landscape, Meta is reportedly in discussions to invest billions of dollars in Scale AI, a prominent data labeling service provider. According to Bloomberg, the potential deal could exceed $10 billion, marking Meta’s largest external AI investment to date and one of the most substantial funding rounds for a private company.
Scale AI, led by CEO Alexandr Wang, specializes in providing crucial data labeling services to AI developers. Companies like Microsoft and OpenAI rely on Scale AI to refine and train their AI models. The company utilizes a network of contractors for much of this labeling work. Recently, the Department of Labor concluded an investigation into Scale AI regarding potential employee misclassification and underpayment.
Scale AI has demonstrated impressive financial growth. Bloomberg reports that the company generated $870 million in revenue last year and projects revenues to reach $2 billion this year, highlighting its increasing importance in the AI ecosystem.
Meta’s interest in Scale AI isn’t entirely new. The social media giant previously participated in Scale AI’s $1 billion Series F funding round, which valued the company at $13.8 billion. Furthermore, Scale AI leveraged Meta’s Llama 3 to develop Defense Llama, a large language model tailored for military applications, illustrating a deepening technological synergy between the two companies.
