Meta has announced a significant investment of $14.3 billion to acquire a 49 percent stake in Scale AI, along with bringing aboard the company’s CEO, Alexandr Wang, to enhance its artificial intelligence initiatives.
Under this agreement, Wang will directly report to Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg, while retaining his position on Scale’s board. Both companies revealed this information on Thursday, with sources indicating that Wang will lead a new AI lab at Meta focused on developing “superintelligence.” A spokesperson for Meta, Ashley Zandy, stated that further details about this initiative and the team members joining it will be shared in the upcoming weeks.
According to insider reports and various media accounts, Zuckerberg has been proactively reaching out to top researchers from competing firms to strengthen Wang’s team. The Meta founder has sought to attract talent by sending direct messages through channels like email and WhatsApp, offering lucrative compensation packages that have swayed some professionals from major companies, including Google.
Scale AI collaborates with leading firms such as Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic, supporting them in training their models through human-annotated and labeled data. Much of this annotation work is conducted using affordable labor sourced from outside the United States, proving essential to the advancement of AI technologies. Following Wang’s departure to Meta, Jason Droege, Scale’s former chief strategy officer, will take on the role of interim CEO.
Wang expressed pride in Scale’s growth, stating in a memo to employees, “We’ve expanded to over 1,500 individuals and have established ourselves as a trusted ally for model creators, businesses, and government entities developing and implementing advanced AI tools and applications.”
He emphasized the impact of the investment, noting, “Scale is recognized as one of the most influential companies globally, accelerating the evolution of what could be the most critical technology in human history. Today marks a pivotal investment from Meta, serving as a powerful acknowledgment of the commitment and effort each of you has put into Scale’s mission.”
Wang further indicated that the funds acquired through Meta’s investment would be distributed among shareholders and equity holders while still allowing for continued participation in Scale’s growth as ongoing equity stakeholders.
Meta’s choice to pursue a partial acquisition rather than complete control mirrors strategies commonly adopted by major tech companies to attract vital AI talent while investing in their associated startups. This strategy aims to mitigate potential antitrust backlash; nonetheless, the transaction is likely to face examination by regulatory bodies, especially since Meta will only receive non-voting shares in Scale.
Recently, Scale established a contract with the Department of Defense to develop a pioneering AI agent program for U.S. military planning. The company has since broadened its engagement with other governments, securing a five-year agreement to supply AI tools to Qatar, and anticipates significant sales growth from contracts with various Asian and European nations in the coming quarters.
As this unfolds, Meta is currently undergoing a trial regarding potential governmental actions aimed at breaking up the company, with the outcome of the case yet to be determined.
Following the underwhelming launch of Llama 4 earlier in the year, Zuckerberg has expressed an urgent desire to rival competitors such as Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, and DeepSeek. The release of Llama 4 faced multiple delays, and reports unveiled that Meta attempted to manipulate a public leaderboard to create an impression of superior performance. The company has yet to unleash Llama 4 Behemoth, a larger, more costly version first hinted at in April.
Last month, Zuckerberg identified two main objectives for Meta in 2025: to establish its ChatGPT rival, Meta AI, as “the leading personal AI” and to achieve “full general intelligence.” He noted that Meta AI has reached a milestone of one billion monthly users, significantly influenced by its integration across platforms like Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook.
In April, Meta launched a dedicated app for Meta AI, featuring a social feed to demonstrate user engagement. Although the app briefly topped the App Store charts, it has struggled to maintain sustained popularity since its debut.
