Meta Eyes Record $10 Billion Stake in Scale A.I. Amid Intensifying Tech Rivalry

Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is negotiating a landmark investment exceeding $10 billion in Scale AI, according to official company sources and public statements.

If finalized, this would mark Meta’s largest external investment in artificial intelligence and one of the biggest private funding rounds in technology history.

Scale AI, founded in 2016 by Alexandr Wang, specializes in data labeling services that are critical for training advanced machine learning models.

The company generated $870 million in revenue in 2024 and projects $2 billion for 2025. Its latest valuation reached $13.8 billion after a major funding round in May 2024.

Scale AI has already partnered with major technology firms, including Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Nvidia.

The company is also discussing a tender offer that could value it at $25 billion.

Meta’s talks with Scale AI come at a time when the company is ramping up its artificial intelligence spending.

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, declared in January that the company will invest between $60 billion and $65 billion in AI infrastructure and development in 2025.

Meta’s capital expenditure targets reflect its goal to lead in AI, with plans to end the year operating 1.3 million GPUs and to expand its data center footprint.

Meta Eyes Record $10 Billion Stake in Scale A.I. Amid Intensifying Tech Rivalry

Meta’s AI products, including the Llama series of language models, serve nearly one billion monthly users across its platforms.

The push for external investment marks a shift in Meta’s strategy. Until now, Meta has relied mostly on internal research and open-source AI models.

The company’s move mirrors investments by rivals such as Microsoft, which has committed over $13 billion to OpenAI, and Amazon and Alphabet, which have invested billions in Anthropic.

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Meta’s new approach aims to secure access to high-quality data and annotation services, which are essential for building competitive AI systems.

Scale AI’s partnership with Meta extends beyond commercial applications. The two companies recently launched Defense Llama, a specialized AI model built for U.S. national security operations

. Defense Llama integrates into military planning and intelligence analysis, reflecting how AI is becoming central not only in business but also in defense.

This investment, if completed, would strengthen Scale AI’s position as a key supplier in the AI ecosystem and reinforce Meta’s commitment to advancing artificial intelligence.

It highlights the growing importance of data infrastructure and specialized AI models in both commercial and government sectors.

The deal could accelerate innovation, reshape competition among tech giants, and influence how AI technologies develop in the coming years.

Meta’s negotiations with Scale AI signal a new phase in the business of artificial intelligence.

The company is betting that control over data and infrastructure will define the next era of technology leadership.

Meta Eyes Record $10 Billion Stake in Scale A.I. Amid Intensifying Tech Rivalry