Meta plans $10 billion investment in Scale AI
Meta is reportedly in advanced discussions to invest over $10 billion into Scale AI, according to Bloomberg, a move that would mark the social media giant’s largest external artificial intelligence investment to date. The potential deal underscores Meta’s increasingly aggressive AI strategy and could become one of the largest private funding rounds in tech history.
A Strategic AI Bet
Scale AI, known for its core service of data labeling—an essential part of training machine learning models—already counts tech heavyweights like Microsoft and OpenAI among its clients. By investing deeper in the company, Meta is looking to secure a more integrated role in the AI infrastructure ecosystem, especially as the race to dominate the next wave of generative AI accelerates.
The San Francisco-based startup generated $870 million in revenue in 2024 and expects to more than double that figure to $2 billion in 2025. This sharp growth trajectory has likely contributed to Meta’s confidence in increasing its stake.
Meta’s Existing Ties to Scale AI
Meta is not new to Scale AI’s cap table. It previously participated in the company’s $1 billion Series F round, which valued Scale AI at $13.8 billion. The relationship between the two companies deepened when Scale AI built “Defense Llama”—a specialized large language model for military use—on top of Meta’s Llama 3 framework.
Such a collaboration highlights the strategic overlap between the companies: Meta supplies the foundational models, while Scale AI handles the critical upstream task of training data preparation and model fine-tuning.
Labor Concerns and Regulatory Attention
Despite its meteoric rise, Scale AI has not avoided scrutiny. The U.S. Department of Labor recently concluded an investigation into the company over concerns it may have misclassified contractors and underpaid workers involved in its data labeling operations. Although the probe has been dropped, the episode underscores the ongoing labor challenges facing companies that rely heavily on gig-based contributors to power AI development.
A Signal to the AI Industry
If finalized, the deal would represent a seismic shift in how major tech companies approach the AI value chain. By placing such a large bet on a data infrastructure firm, Meta is signaling that high-quality data and training services are just as critical as foundational model development.
For Meta, the move complements its broader push into AI-driven products across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, and could give it a tighter grip on the tools required to train and deploy state-of-the-art models.
For Scale AI, a fresh injection of capital from one of the world’s most influential tech firms could further cement its position as a linchpin in the AI ecosystem—and dramatically accelerate its expansion.
As talks continue, the industry is watching closely. If the deal goes through, it won't just make headlines for its size—it will mark a defining moment in the business of artificial intelligence.
