Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is making a significant strategic move in the field of artificial intelligence. Facing competition from rivals such as OpenAI and Google, Meta has recognized a gap in its AI capabilities and decided to invest $15 billion in Scale AI.
According to multiple reports on Tuesday, Meta has finalized a deal to acquire a 49% stake in Scale AI for $14.8 billion. This deal values the San Francisco – based Scale AI at around $30 billion. The investment is aimed at helping Meta process and train large AI models using high – quality labeled data at scale.
Scale AI, founded in 2016 by Alexandr Wang, is a leading data – labeling company. It provides crucial data – labeling services for training machine – learning models and counts major government agencies and private – sector companies among its clients. Its technology helps clean, tag, and structure data, enabling AI models to learn more effectively.
As part of the agreement, Alexandr Wang is expected to take a top role within Meta’s newly established AI research lab focused on “superintelligence”. Reports also suggest that some Scale AI employees will transition to Meta. Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has been personally recruiting AI researchers from top labs, offering lucrative compensation packages to attract talent from rival firms.
Meta recently announced that its AI platform has reached 1 billion monthly active users. However, Zuckerberg is said to be frustrated with the pace of progress. The company is already expected to spend $72 billion on capital expenditures this year, with AI infrastructure accounting for a large portion of the budget. The investment in Scale AI further demonstrates Meta’s commitment to enhancing its AI capabilities through data and talent acquisition.
This move marks one of Meta’s largest strategic bets in the AI field and a significant departure from its traditional reliance on in – house research and open – source initiatives. With this investment, Meta aims to position itself as a leader in the AI space and compete with major players like OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft.
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