Scale AI insists it’s not shutting down after $14.3 billion Meta investment

Meta AI

Following Meta’s eye-popping $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI, the startup’s interim CEO, Jason Droege, is making one thing clear: this is not a pivot, an exit, or a slowdown.

According to a report by CNBC, in a memo released Wednesday, Droege assured employees, partners, and investors that Scale AI remains “unequivocally” an independent company — despite Meta now owning a 49% stake. Importantly, Meta holds no voting power in the company, even as Scale founder Alexandr Wang and a few other employees move over to Meta as part of the deal.

“Unlike some other recent tech deals you might have heard about in the AI space, this is not a pivot or a winding down,” Droege wrote. “This deal rewards many of the people who helped build Scale… but more importantly… it’s a validation of the course we’re on,” as per the report.

Founded in 2016, Scale AI gained traction by supplying data preparation services for AI models developed by major players like OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft. It’s been one of the most prominent “picks-and-shovels” companies in the AI boom, helping tech giants feed their models clean, labeled data.

As per the report, Droege emphasised that the company remains committed to its core operations — specifically, its data and application units — and will continue to be model-agnostic. “We are not slowing down,” he added, noting the continued importance of high-quality training data.

But despite the vote of confidence from Meta, not all clients are sticking around. OpenAI confirmed it has been phasing out its work with Scale over the past year, citing a preference for data providers that better align with its evolving needs. The company says its decision wasn’t influenced by Meta’s stake.

Meanwhile, Google is reportedly also ending its partnership with Scale AI, according to Reuters, though it declined to comment publicly.