Zuckerberg Plans to Invest Heavily in Scale AI
The AI arms race is entering a heated phase, with reports indicating that Meta is preparing to invest tens of billions of dollars in Scale AI, potentially marking the largest investment in the AI sector for the company and one of the highest fundraising amounts ever received by a private company.
Scale AI is a U.S. AI company focused on “Data Labeling” and “AI Training Data Processing,” founded in 2016 by Alexandr Wang and Lucy Guo. Its core business revolves around providing high-quality labeled data suitable for training AI models to leading global tech companies (such as OpenAI, NVIDIA, Tesla, Meta, Microsoft, etc.) and government agencies.
Funding Scale Estimated at $10 Billion, but Deal Not Confirmed
According to a report by Bloomberg, Meta is in discussions with Scale AI to negotiate an investment of billions of dollars, with the scale potentially reaching $10 billion. However, the terms of this deal have not yet been finalized and may still change.
Currently, there are no disclosed details regarding this deal, but the news reflects Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s firm commitment to investing in AI, as he stated earlier this year that Meta would invest up to $65 billion in AI this year.
Zuckerberg stated earlier this year that they would invest $65 billion in AI this year.
Image / Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook
Scale AI primarily provides data labeling services, with clients including companies like OpenAI and Microsoft. Both Microsoft and Meta have previously participated in funding for the company. In April of this year, there were reports that Scale AI was planning a buyout at a valuation of $25 billion, and the current news seems to indicate that this plan is still progressing.
So, what exactly is data labeling service?
In simple terms, it involves accurately labeling raw images, videos, text, and sensor data through both manual and automated methods to convert them into a format that AI can learn from.
The labeled data will be widely applied in areas such as autonomous driving, language models (like ChatGPT), image recognition, content moderation, and robotics. Consequently, Scale AI is hailed as the “TSMC of AI data” or the “data factory behind AI models,” serving as an indispensable infrastructure driving next-generation AI technologies like generative AI, large language models (LLMs), and autonomous vehicles.
Who is Alexandr Wang?
Alexandr Wang, who dropped out of MIT in 2016, co-founded Scale AI. He is a second-generation Chinese immigrant with a high aptitude and passion for mathematics and computer programming from a young age, having briefly worked in the Q&A platform Quora and the quantitative trading firm Hudson River Trading during his teenage years.
Scale AI provides companies with labeled high-quality AI training data, with many well-known tech giants as its clients.
Image / Scale AI Official Website
Currently serving as CEO, Wang stated that Scale AI’s business is to solve the “least sexy” problems in the AI field. Scale AI employs over 100,000 contractors globally, labeling various training data. This nearly unregulated work has attracted a large number of workers from low-income areas to work remotely; however, it has also plunged the company into controversies over sweatshop labor. Last year, the company faced accusations three times for having employees handle harmful content, such as animal carcasses and pornography, without providing any psychological support.
However, Wang has previously asserted that Scale AI’s significance in the AI field is on par with NVIDIA’s, stating, “Our indispensability in AI is no less than NVIDIA’s.” Scale AI’s revenue reached $870 million last year, with expectations to double to $2 billion by 2025, demonstrating impressive growth.
Notably, Scale AI and Meta also share mutual interests in defense technology, having collaborated on the development of the military AI model Defense Llama, and both have established partnerships with the defense technology company Anduril.
In the face of increasingly fierce AI competition, Scale AI, as a behind-the-scenes supporter of AI training, has become an essential player, and Meta’s investment reflects their ambitious development in the AI sector.
This article is collaboratively republished from: Digital Age
Data sources: Bloomberg, TechCrunch
This article was initially drafted by AI, edited by Chen Jianjun
Responsible editor: Li Xiantai