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Meta to Acquire 49% Stake in Scale AI for Nearly $15 Billion, Reports Say

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Meta Platforms is reportedly set to purchase a 49% stake in AI data-labeling startup Scale AI for approximately $14.8 billion, according to The Information. The deal, which remains unfinalized, highlights Meta’s intensified efforts to strengthen its artificial intelligence capabilities amid mounting competition in the AI race.

Founded in 2016, Scale AI specializes in providing large volumes of labeled and curated training data essential for developing advanced AI tools, including those powering models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Scale AI’s investors, including Accel, Index Ventures, Founders Fund, and Greenoaks, are expected to benefit significantly from the deal.

Under the agreement, Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang is expected to join Meta in a leadership role, heading a new “superintelligence” lab within the company. This move aligns with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s push to recruit top AI talent and accelerate innovation, especially after Meta’s recent Llama 4 models underperformed relative to expectations.

Meta’s ambitious plans include the forthcoming release of its major AI model, dubbed “Behemoth,” which has faced delays due to performance concerns, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. The company is also navigating ongoing antitrust scrutiny related to past acquisitions like Instagram and WhatsApp.

Industry analysts note that the deal’s structure may be designed to minimize regulatory hurdles, addressing heightened scrutiny of large tech mergers. Scale AI, valued at $13.8 billion in a recent funding round, reported $870 million in revenue in 2024 and forecasts over $2 billion in 2025. The company ended last year with more than $900 million in cash reserves.

Meta’s Zuckerberg Forms New AGI-Focused AI Team Amid Scale AI Investment

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Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg is assembling a new artificial intelligence team with a mission to pursue artificial general intelligence (AGI) — AI systems capable of matching or exceeding human-level intelligence — according to a report by Bloomberg News on Tuesday. The move signals Meta’s ambition to compete at the highest level of AI development, alongside rivals like OpenAI.

Zuckerberg is reportedly leading the recruitment of about 50 AI experts to form the AGI group, including searching for a new head of AI research. The effort comes amid Meta’s planned investment of over $10 billion in Scale AI, with Scale AI’s founder Alexandr Wang expected to join Meta’s AGI team once the deal is finalized, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources.

Meta has not yet publicly confirmed the formation of this team. Reuters noted that Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The creation of the AGI team follows internal dissatisfaction with the performance and reception of Meta’s most recent large language model, Llama 4, according to Bloomberg. Compounding these challenges, the Wall Street Journal previously reported that Meta delayed the release of its flagship “Behemoth” AI model last month due to concerns about its readiness and capabilities.

While Meta continues to build out its Llama series of models and expand AI integration across its platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, the pivot toward AGI suggests Zuckerberg is positioning Meta to remain competitive as global tech giants race to develop the next generation of AI technology.

Competitors such as OpenAI are also actively seeking additional investment to fuel their AGI research. The AGI race has attracted massive financial commitments, talent acquisitions, and escalating debates about both the promise and risks of creating human-level AI.

Instagram Co-Founder Claims Mark Zuckerberg Viewed App’s Success as a ‘Threat’

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Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom has testified in an antitrust trial, claiming that Instagram could have thrived independently and that its growth was viewed as a “threat” by Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta Platforms. Systrom’s testimony comes as part of the U.S. government’s monopoly case, which aims to reverse Meta’s 2012 acquisition of Instagram. The case, led by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), suggests that Meta’s purchase of Instagram, now a social media giant with nearly three billion users, was part of a strategy to stifle competition. Instagram is projected to generate a substantial portion of Meta’s U.S. ad revenue this year, underlining its importance to the company’s business model.

During his testimony, Systrom highlighted Instagram’s rapid growth leading up to the acquisition, noting how the app saw a 13-fold increase in users in 2011 alone, the year before the purchase. This surge in popularity, he suggested, indicated Instagram’s potential to succeed on its own. Despite this, Zuckerberg’s approach to Instagram after the acquisition took a more adversarial turn, with Systrom claiming that Meta’s CEO saw Instagram as a competitive threat. Systrom testified that Instagram was starved of resources once it was acquired, and despite the app’s potential, it struggled to get the support it needed from Meta, particularly when it came to hiring additional staff for key initiatives.

Systrom expressed confidence that Instagram could have continued to evolve without the acquisition, including adding crucial features like video support and private messaging. He argued that the company had the necessary infrastructure to support its growth, particularly pointing out that Instagram relied on Amazon Web Services (AWS) for its operational needs. Even when it came to tackling spam and harmful content, Systrom believed that Instagram could have handled these challenges independently, suggesting that scaling the platform’s content moderation efforts was not an insurmountable challenge.

However, when cross-examined by Meta’s lawyers, Systrom admitted that the company’s success was never guaranteed. “It could have gone either way,” he said, acknowledging the inherent risks in the startup world. Despite this, Systrom remained firm in his belief that Instagram had a solid foundation to continue growing. After the acquisition, Systrom described a fluctuating relationship with Zuckerberg, who oscillated between supporting and viewing Instagram as a threat. Systrom also mentioned that after the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal, Instagram faced a lack of new resources, with no additional employees allocated to crucial areas like video development or data privacy efforts. This resource deprivation, Systrom suggested, played a key role in hindering Instagram’s full potential post-acquisition.