Meta makes major investment in Scale AI, takes in CEO

Core Insights - Meta has made a significant investment of over $10 billion in Scale AI, valuing the startup at more than $29 billion, and has acquired its CEO, Alexandr Wang, to enhance its artificial intelligence initiatives [3][4]. - The partnership aims to deepen collaboration in producing data for AI models, with Wang joining Meta to work on superintelligence efforts [4][5]. - Scale AI, founded in 2016, has grown to over 1,500 employees and focuses on leveraging AI for businesses, governments, and labs [5][6]. Investment Details - Meta's investment is part of a strategic partnership to enhance AI capabilities amid competition with companies like OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft [4]. - The investment will allow Scale AI to accelerate innovation, strengthen partnerships, and distribute proceeds to equity holders [9]. - After the investment deal closes, Meta will hold a minority stake in Scale AI, although the exact percentage has not been disclosed [9]. Leadership Changes - Alexandr Wang will transition to Meta while remaining on Scale AI's board of directors, and other employees, referred to as "Scaliens," will also join him [6]. - Jason Droege, a tech industry veteran and co-founder of Uber Eats, will take over as the new CEO of Scale AI [9]. AI Capabilities - Scale AI has developed an AI model called "Defense Llama," based on Meta's Llama 3 model, tailored for U.S. national security missions [7][8]. - The model is designed to assist in military and intelligence operations by assessing scenarios and answering tactical questions [8]. - Scale AI is committed to ongoing collaboration with the defense community to ensure the effectiveness of its AI solutions [8].