Mark Zuckerberg is waiting. Frustrated with Meta’s loose advances in AI, he has placed $14 billion bets on Scale AI, bringing in founder Alexandr Wang to help pilot the company on the course.
According to a CNBC report citing people familiar with the discussion, Meta is approaching finalizing a deal that will give the startup 49% stake that covers the data. The agreement also includes introducing Wang to reduce its AI strategy.
The move follows a report from Bloomberg two days ago that Meta is “in discussions to make billions of dollars investments in artificial intelligence startup scale AI.” Bloomberg added that investments could exceed $10 billion and information is approaching $15 billion. Although this deal is not a complete acquisition, it is a clear signal that Zuckerberg is looking at the heart and scale of AI and Wang in the next chapter of AI.
Founded in 2016 by CEOs Alexandr Wang and Lucy Guo, Scale AI has established its reputation as a vital player in the AI landscape, focusing on the key aspects of providing training data for AI applications. The Wang entrepreneur’s journey, which began at the age of 19, a student at MIT, promoted him to the world’s youngest, homemade billionaires rank.
AI Founder and CEO Scale: Alexandr Wang
Wang, who dropped out of MIT to launch Scale AI in 2016, has built one of the most influential startups in the AI space. Scale works with tech giants such as Openai, Google, and Microsoft to prepare large datasets that will be used to train modern AI models. Meta is already one of its biggest customers. Now, the relationship is deeper as Wang intervenes to lead the new AI lab in Meta.
The new lab is more than just an exhibition. Sources told CNBC that Wang will bring some of his team to him, and the hope is that he will help Meta build better models and build them faster. After a slimy reception with Meta’s Llama 4 model earlier this year, Zuckerberg is looking for someone with both technical chops and execution track record.
“As the founder of one of the most prominent AI startups, Wang has built his reputation as an ambitious leader in building businesses that are not simply focused on research,” reported CNBC.
This is not a traditional acquisition, but I feel the goal is familiar. Get talent, not just technology. Meta’s legal team is monitoring the steps here as the full acquisition may have been further scrutinized amid ongoing antitrust exams with the FTC.
Wang’s credentials are on par with what Zuckerberg wants. Internally, people describe him as a “wartime CEO,” someone who thrives under pressure and is not afraid to move fast. The king then sees AI through a geopolitical lens. In an interview with CNBC in January, he believes there is a “AI war” between the US and China, and that the US needs more infrastructure to stay competitive.
“The US will need huge amounts of computing power, huge amounts of infrastructure,” he said. “We need to unleash the energy of the US to make this AI boom possible.”
That idea resonates with Zuckerberg. He is increasingly worried that Meta is behind rivals like Openai. Internally, the shift is already happening. Meta is apart of the long-standing AI research unit, and is fair and gives more weight to the product-centric Genai team. However, the team stumbled over this spring when they released two smaller versions of the Llama 4 instead of the high-powered “giants” model that Meta is expected to have. The developers weren’t impressed, and their frustration reportedly reached the top.
In the aftermath, Meta reshuffled his leadership. The genai team was split into two. Connor Hayes is currently heading AI products, while AGI Foundations is co-led by Amir Frenkel and former head of Genai, Ahmad Al-Dahle. Some insiders saw Al Dahl’s relegation as a sign that Zuckerberg had lost confidence.
The arrival of the king changes the equation. He brings fresh perspectives and insights into how top competitors are building their models and where the meta is lacking. As Vahan Petrosyan, CEO of rival startup Superannotate, said, “I think the scale probably covers 70% of all models built.” For meta, that means access to what Petrosyan calls “collective intelligence on how to build a better ChatGPT.”
“When Meta is buying them, they’re buying their intelligence,” he said.
It remains to be seen whether the King’s presence is sufficient to fix Meta’s AI troubles. But Zuckerberg’s message is clear. If your current team can’t stream, you’re ready to bring someone who can.
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