2025Technology / AI

Meta ← Scale AI

Meta Hires Scale AI Founder to Lead Superintelligence Efforts

A $14.3 billion deal that brought the world's youngest self-made billionaire to lead Meta's AI ambitions

Deal Value

$14.3B for 49% stake

Team Size

CEO + leadership team

Industry

Technology / AI

In June 2025, Meta announced a landmark $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI that included hiring founder and CEO Alexandr Wang to lead Meta's superintelligence efforts. The deal gave Meta a 49% non-voting stake in Scale AI while bringing one of AI's most accomplished entrepreneurs into the fold.

Background

Scale AI, founded in 2016 by then-19-year-old Alexandr Wang, had become the critical infrastructure layer for AI development—providing the labeled data that trained models from OpenAI, Meta, and the US Department of Defense.

By 2025, Scale AI was valued at over $29 billion and had established itself as essential to virtually every major AI initiative.

Meanwhile, Meta was facing a crisis. The April 2025 release of Llama 4 was widely criticized—allegations of inflated performance metrics, rushed release, and failure to keep pace with rivals like DeepSeek led many to call it "a flop."

CEO Mark Zuckerberg grew frustrated that rivals like OpenAI appeared further ahead in both underlying AI models and consumer-facing applications.

The Move

Meta's relationship with Scale AI dated back to 2019, when the social media company began using Scale as a data provider for its AI efforts.

In June 2025, Meta announced the unprecedented deal: $14.3 billion for a 49% stake in Scale AI, plus the hiring of Alexandr Wang himself.

Critically, Meta's stake came with no voting power—Scale AI remained independent and continued serving its other customers.

Wang would continue as a director on Scale AI's board while working on "superintelligence efforts" for Meta. Jason Droege, Scale's chief strategy officer, became interim CEO.

Key Players

Alexandr Wang

Scale AI Founder & CEO → Meta Superintelligence Lead

Became world's youngest self-made billionaire at 24. Known for understanding both AI's technical complexities and how to build a business.

Mark Zuckerberg

Meta CEO

Initiated the deal after growing frustrated with Meta's AI progress relative to competitors.

Jason Droege

Scale AI CSO → Interim CEO

Took over day-to-day Scale AI operations to maintain independence.

Why It Worked

•Wang brought both technical credibility and proven execution ability—rare in AI leadership.
•The non-voting stake structure preserved Scale AI's independence, avoiding antitrust concerns and maintaining customer relationships.
•Meta got talent and strategic partnership without the regulatory burden of a full acquisition.
•Scale AI retained its ability to serve other customers, including Meta's competitors.

Challenges

•Managing potential conflicts of interest with Scale AI continuing to serve competitors.
•Questions about whether Wang can deliver results in Meta's more bureaucratic environment.
•Scale AI must now operate under interim leadership while maintaining momentum.

Outcome

•Meta immediately gained world-class AI leadership and a strategic data partnership.
•The deal signaled to the market that Meta was serious about competing in AI.
•Scale AI continued operating independently with a significantly stronger balance sheet.

Lessons for Other Liftouts

1.Creative deal structures (non-voting stakes) can solve both talent acquisition and regulatory concerns.
2.Sometimes buying part of a company and hiring its leader beats a full acquisition.
3.In the AI talent war, the right leader can be worth billions.