Mark Zuckerberg is so frustrated with Meta’s
standing in artificial intelligence that he’s willing to spend billions of dollars to convince Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang to join his company, people familiar with the matter told CNBC.
Meta is finalizing a deal to invest $14 billion into Scale AI, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the terms are confidential. Bloomberg reported earlier this week that an investment could top $10 billion, and a story from The Information on Tuesday said Meta would pay close to $15 billion.
As a founder of one of the most prominent AI startups, Wang has built a reputation as an ambitious leader who both understands AI’s technical complexities and how to build a business that’s not merely focused on research, according to two former Meta AI employees who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity. Zuckerberg will be counting on Wang to better execute Meta’s AI ambitions following the lukewarm launch of the company’s latest Llama AI models.
By not directly acquiring Scale AI, Meta appears to be taking a similar strategy as companies like Google
