Meta to Acquire 49% Stake in Scale AI for $14.8B

Meta Platforms is set to invest $14.8 billion to acquire a 49% stake in AI-pioneering startup Scale AI, per The Information and Reuters

This marks Meta’s largest-ever external investment, signaling its aggressive pivot to catch up in the AI arms race.

📊 What the Deal Includes

• 49% Stake for $14.8B: Meta takes a non-controlling share, reportedly using nonvoting stock to avoid antitrust scrutiny
• Scale AI’s CEO Joins Meta: Alexandr Wang will lead a new “superintelligence” lab and manage a dedicated Meta team
• Scale AI Snapshot: Founded in 2016, providing labeled training data, with $870M revenue in 2024, projected to exceed $2B in 2025, and $900M+ cash reserves
• Meta’s Move Post-Llama Setbacks: The deal follows challenges with its Llama 4 models and delays of its Behemoth model

🤔 Why It Matters

1. Strategic AI Talent: Wang brings not just technical leadership but also the full Scale AI team to advance AGI
2. Critical Data Infrastructure: Scale AI’s top-tier labeled data fuels labs like OpenAI, Google, and Meta—essential for model training
3. Avoids Regulatory Pitfalls: A minority stake avoids antitrust scrutiny, unlike full acquisitions of Instagram/WhatsApp
4. Big Tech Peer Pressure: Following Microsoft’s and Google’s large investments in AI startups, this move anchors Meta in the fierce AI competition
5. AGI Acceleration Play: Funding the superintelligence lab under Wang represents Meta’s explicit bet on long-term, human-level AI capabilities

Looking Ahead

• Meta aims to build a 50-person AGI team alongside Wang in Menlo Park
• Scale AI to begin $25B tender offer for investors and employees
• Industry ripple effect: Meta’s stake positions AI data infrastructure providers and chip/cloud vendors (e.g., Nvidia, AWS) as potential winners ainvest.com.
• The deal is not finalized, but both parties expect closure soon .

Suggested External Links

• The Information analysis: Meta’s nearly $15B deal overview
• WSJ insight: Wang’s joining Meta and the minority stake strategy
• The Verge on Meta’s AGI strategy and investment

Summary

Meta’s $14.8B, 49% investment in Scale AI—combined with Alexandr Wang’s leadership of a new superintelligence lab—marks a major escalation in AI strategy. It gives Meta access to essential training data, top AI talent, and a regulatory-friendly structure as the company races to catch up with AI counterparts like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic.