Meta’s Strategic Investment in Scale AI
Meta has confirmed its acquisition of a 49% stake in Scale AI, valuing the company at over $29 billion. The tech giant is investing approximately $15 billion for this stake. As part of the deal, Scale AI’s founder and CEO, Alexandr Wang, will join Meta to lead AI efforts.
Five Key Facts About Alexandr Wang
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MIT Dropout Turned Entrepreneur After his freshman year, Wang dropped out of MIT to cofound Scale AI with Lucy Guo. The startup was launched out of Y Combinator in 2016. Jared Friedman, a YC partner, noted that Scale AI was taking advantage of an opportunity that was ‘hiding in plain sight.’ Wang had ambitious plans for the company, stating that they wanted to ‘power any human-powered process for any company’ long-term.
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Youngest Self-Made Billionaire At 24, Wang became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire in 2021. As of June, Forbes estimates his net worth at $3.6 billion. Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund helped Scale reach unicorn status with a $100 million investment in 2019. Wang’s advice to entrepreneurs is to ‘focus on building the business and then the rest will kind of take care of itself.’
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Frequent Visitor to Washington Wang has been actively engaging with policymakers in Washington. He attended closed-door AI-focused panel discussions hosted by then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and testified before a House subcommittee on military uses of AI. Wang emphasized that US national security depends on AI development, citing his 2018 trip to China as a turning point in his understanding of AI’s importance.
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AI Policy Advocacy Following Trump’s second inauguration, Wang published an open letter outlining five ways the administration could advance AI in its first 100 days. He suggested that the US government should increase spending on data and compute, similar to tech giants, and establish an interagency task force to review regulations hindering AI job growth.
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Joining Meta’s Superintelligence Team Wang is set to work on Meta’s superintelligence arm, continuing to serve as a director on Scale’s board. In a note to Scale employees, Wang mentioned that the investment proceeds from Meta would be distributed to shareholders and vested equity holders.
The investment in Scale AI and Wang’s appointment underscore Meta’s commitment to advancing its AI capabilities. Wang’s experience in AI development and his connections with policymakers position him as a key figure in Meta’s future AI plans.
