Meta Acquires Majority Stake in Data Labeling Firm Scale AI
Meta Platforms is acquiring a 49% stake in Scale AI, a leading artificial intelligence training services provider, in a reported deal worth $14.8 billion, according to The Information. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is leveraging this investment to bolster Meta’s capabilities in the generative AI domain.
While negotiations potentially took weeks, the deal was finalized Tuesday, involving a cash transaction that also secures the services of Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang, who will join Meta under a new “Superintelligence” initiative aimed at developing advanced artificial intelligence systems.
Zuckerberg has allegedly grown frustrated with Meta’s AI progress. As Bloomberg reports, Meta is assembling a large internal team with the ultimate goal of achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI). A significant funding source for this mission appears to be securing expertise from leading AI infrastructure providers.
The timeline for AGI breakthroughs is estimated to be a few years away by experts. Ben Goertzel, founder of SingularityNET, believes decentralized AI systems offer crucial safeguards. An acquisition targets arguably contradict this decentralized approach.
Regardless, the major AI technology companies see AGI development as the next major technological frontier.
Significant Investment Growth Across Tech Sector
Simultaneously, the United States’ major technology companies—Meta, Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft—are expected to invest a record $320 billion in AI and supporting infrastructure this year, as reported by CNBC. This marks a significant jump from $230 billion spent last year.
Separate analysis from Bloomberg Intelligence notes a 16% increase in AI capital spending since the start of 2025 regarding data centers.
Companies involved in data center construction and related hardware are positioned to benefit from this massive spending. Financial analysis from Goldman Sachs highlights significant gains in this sector since recent lows.
