Meta has acquired a 49 per cent stake in Scale AI for $14.3 billion in a deal that values the start-up at $29 billion.

Scale AI, which specialises in data for AI training and counts Google and OpenAI among its customers, said the deal will help drive innovation and strengthen strategic partnerships with customers.

The firm added that it will distribute the proceeds of Meta's investment to Scale shareholders, providing them with ‘significant liquidity’ and the opportunity to continue to participate in Scale's success as equity holders.

Meta said the investment aims to boost its AI strategy, with a particular focus on data labelling which is crucial to train AI models.

As part of the deal, Scale's chief executive Alexandr Wang will join Meta to lead its superintelligence activities.

In a statement, Scale AI said Wang will continue to serve on Scale's board of directors and support the company’s ongoing work to unlock the power of AI and “keep human values at the forefront”.

Wang, a 28-year-old entrepreneur, co-founded Scale AI after dropping out of MIT and has quickly become one of Silicon Valley's most promising figures.

Meanwhile, Scale's board of directors has appointed Jason Droege, chief strategy officer, as interim chief executive of the company.

Droege joined Scale in September 2024 with over 20 years of experience building and leading iconic technology companies that improve everyday life, including Uber Eats and Axon.

Scale said Droege's leadership has been ‘instrumental’ in the growth and results of AI Labs and its work with enterprise customers.

Commenting on the investment, Wang said: “Meta’s investment recognises Scale’s accomplishments to date and reaffirms that our path forward – like that of AI – is limitless.”

Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that Meta is putting together a new team focused on developing general artificial intelligence (AGI).

According to Bloomberg, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is personally recruiting about 50 experts, including a new head of AI research, to lead the “superintelligence” team.

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