Meta Platforms Inc. has acquired a 49% stake in data-labeling startup Scale AI in a landmark deal valuing the company at $29 billion. The $14.3 billion cash investment, Meta’s second-largest ever after its 2014 WhatsApp acquisition, also brings Scale’s 28-year-old CEO, Alexandr Wang, into the heart of Meta’s AI strategy.
According to two sources familiar with the matter, the primary objective behind Meta’s investment is to secure Wang’s leadership in its newly formed superintelligence division—a bold pivot that signals a shift in Meta’s approach to AI innovation.
“We will deepen the work we do together producing data for AI models, and Alexandr Wang will join Meta to work on our superintelligence efforts,” Meta said in a statement, though it did not disclose financial specifics.
Wang, a college dropout from MIT and the son of Chinese immigrant physicists, co-founded Scale AI in 2016. Since then, he has become one of Silicon Valley’s most influential young entrepreneurs, raising capital from elite venture firms and securing contracts with major U.S. federal agencies. Wang has also developed close ties with industry leaders, including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, and has testified before the U.S. Congress on AI policy and safety.
Although Wang does not come from a traditional research background, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is betting that a founder with business and executional grit—akin to Altman—can inject new momentum into Meta’s AI initiatives, which have recently struggled with delayed open-source releases and internal staff departures.
Wang’s move to Meta will include a handful of Scale employees, though he will continue to serve on Scale’s board. Jason Droege, currently Scale’s Chief Strategy Officer, will serve as interim CEO.
Scale confirmed the valuation in a statement but declined to provide further financial or strategic details. Meta, meanwhile, reportedly does not plan to take a seat on Scale’s board.
The deal raises questions over potential regulatory scrutiny, especially as Meta remains under the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s microscope for its earlier acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. Whether this latest transaction triggers antitrust interest remains to be seen.
Founded to provide high-quality data to power machine learning systems, Scale AI now boasts over 1,500 employees. The company has become instrumental in supporting large AI models through data curation and labeling—functions that are foundational for training next-generation AI systems.
With this major acquisition, Meta aims to regain ground in the increasingly competitive AI race, where rivals like Google, OpenAI, and China’s DeepSeek continue to accelerate their technological dominance.
