Meta Platforms Inc is in advanced discussions to invest more than US$10 billion in Scale AI, a San Francisco-based artificial intelligence (AI) startup, in what could become one of the largest private funding deals in tech history, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Bloomberg reported that while terms are not yet finalised and may still change, the potential investment underscores Meta’s aggressive push into AI, an area Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has identified as the company’s top priority, with up to US$65 billion earmarked for AI-related initiatives this year.
Scale AI, founded in 2016 by Alexandr Wang, has quickly become a central player in the generative AI boom. It provides data labelling services essential for training machine learning models and counts tech giants like Microsoft and OpenAI among its clients. Last valued at US$14 billion in 2024, Scale is reportedly exploring a tender offer valuing the firm at US$25 billion.
A deal of this magnitude would mark Meta’s largest external AI investment to date, diverging from its traditional reliance on in-house research and open-source development. Unlike cloud rivals Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet — all of which have pumped billions into AI startups like OpenAI and Anthropic — Meta lacks a cloud business, and it remains unclear how the investment would be structured.
The partnership between Meta and Scale is already taking shape in defence tech. The two companies are collaborating on Defense Llama, a military-grade version of Meta’s Llama large language model. Scale, which secured a US Department of Defence contract earlier this year, is increasingly active in national security applications of AI.
Last week, Meta also announced a defence-focused collaboration with Anduril Industries to develop advanced military tech, including AR/VR AI-powered helmets. The company’s AI chatbot — integrated across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — now serves over one billion users monthly.
If finalised, this deal would not only amplify Meta’s AI capabilities but also reinforce Scale’s position at the heart of the AI arms race — both commercially and militarily.
