Meta Platforms Inc. is in talks to invest over $10 billion in Scale AI, a significant artificial intelligence startup, according to sources familiar with the discussions, marking Meta’s largest external AI investment to date.
The terms of the potential investment are not yet finalized and are subject to change, sources indicate. Representatives for Meta declined to comment, while Scale AI did not respond to requests for comment.
Scale AI, co-founded in 2016 by CEO Alexandr Wang, provides essential data labeling and organization services for training machine-learning models, benefiting from the generative AI boom with major clients like Microsoft Corp. and OpenAI.
Scale AI was valued at approximately $14 billion in 2024, following a funding round that included Meta and Microsoft. Earlier this year, reports suggested the company was in talks for a tender offer that could have valued it at $25 billion.
This potential investment represents a notable departure for Meta, which has historically relied on in-house research and an open development strategy for advancing its AI technology, unlike other major tech companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet that have invested heavily in AI firms.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has positioned AI as the company’s top strategic priority, announcing plans to allocate up to $65 billion this year towards AI-related projects, including establishing Meta’s AI model, Llama, as a leading industry standard.
Scale AI reported robust growth, generating $870 million in revenue last year, with projections suggesting sales could more than double to $2 billion in 2025. The company’s operational model relies on contract workers to process vast amounts of data for AI training.
Both Meta and Scale AI share an interest in defense technology applications of AI, with Meta announcing a collaboration with Anduril Industries Inc. to develop products for the U.S. military and approving U.S. government agencies and defense contractors to utilize its AI models.
The two companies are collaborating on “Defense Llama,” a specialized version of Meta’s Llama large language model for military use. Scale AI has engaged with the U.S. government on defense AI initiatives, securing a contract with the Department of Defense to develop AI agent technology.
