In a bold move to strengthen its position in the fiercely competitive AI landscape, Meta has secured Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang to lead its superintelligence ambitions as part of a massive $14.3 billion investment deal announced on June 12, 2025.
The agreement gives Meta a 49% stake in Scale AI, valuing the data-labeling startup at $29 billion, though Meta will not have any voting power in the company. Wang, who founded Scale AI in 2016 after dropping out of MIT, will transition to Meta while maintaining a position on Scale's board of directors. Jason Droege, Scale's chief strategy officer who joined in 2024, has been appointed interim CEO.
Meta's investment represents its second-largest ever after its $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp and signals CEO Mark Zuckerberg's determination to accelerate the company's AI development. The move follows growing frustration with Meta's AI shortfalls, particularly after its flagship Llama 4 models received a tepid response from developers in April 2025. Reports indicate the models suffered from possibly inflated performance metrics and failed to keep pace with competitors like China's DeepSeek.
Wang, whose personal stake is reportedly valued at $5 billion, will join Meta's newly formed superintelligence lab, which Zuckerberg is personally assembling by recruiting approximately 50 top AI researchers and engineers. Industry observers note that unlike many AI lab leaders, Wang does not come from a research background but has built a major AI business that provides data labeling services to leading tech companies including OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft.
Zuckerberg appears to be betting that Meta's AI efforts can be revitalized by Wang's business acumen and extensive industry connections. "Meta has finalized our strategic partnership and investment in Scale AI. As part of this, we will deepen the work we do together producing data for AI models and Alexandr Wang will join Meta to work on our superintelligence efforts," a Meta spokesperson stated, promising more details about the initiative in the coming weeks.
Scale AI will continue operating as an independent company, with Droege emphasizing that it is "not winding down" following the deal. However, industry analysts question whether other AI labs that have traditionally worked with Scale AI might reconsider their partnerships due to Meta's significant stake and Wang's ongoing board position, potentially giving Meta insights into competitors' data priorities.