Zuckerberg targets UK defence deals
Mark Zuckerberg is targeting British defence deals after investing billions of pounds in an artificial intelligence business that is courting Britain's national security agencies.
Meta has taken a $14bn (£10.4bn) stake in Scale AI, a Silicon Valley start-up that counts the Pentagon as a key customer, working with the US Airforce and US Army.
Scale AI, which was founded by 28-year-old billionaire Alexandr Wang, is now seeking to build ties with the British Government and is hiring sales staff with 'experience focused on the Ministry of Defence and intelligence community' as it expands in London.
In March, Scale AI revealed a deal with the Pentagon to work on a project dubbed 'Thunderforge'. The programme will see Scale AI embed AI bots into the US military's planning and frontline operations.
Meta's investment in Scale AI marks Mr Zuckerberg's latest foray into defence. The Facebook owner recently signed an agreement to work with the US military on advanced headsets for frontline soldiers. It has also made its most advanced AI product, known as Llama, available for 'national security uses by the US and its closest allies'.
After years of demurring from military work, Silicon Valley is increasingly embracing defence as AI becomes one of the key battlefields between the West and its adversaries, China and Russia. Mr Wang has called for the US to back the AI industry and spoken of the need to 'win the AI war' against Beijing.
Last year, ChatGPT developer OpenAI signed a deal with defence manufacturer Anduril to develop counter-drone systems. Daniel Ek, the Spotify billionaire, last week confirmed a major investment in Helsing, a German drone-maker.
Launched in 2016 by Mr Wang, Scale AI was last week valued at $29bn after Facebook-owner Meta took a 49pc stake in the business. It opened a UK office last year and has been pursuing public sector contracts.
Scale AI is a major supplier to other AI laboratories such as OpenAI. The business is known for providing data labelling and services that help other technology businesses fine-tune their AI technology.
In a submission to MPs last year, Scale AI said it planned to 'explore how we can support the UK's defence objectives in order to ensure that the UK defence sector is not just keeping up with technological advances in the field, but rather leading the way forward'.
In February, Mr Wang, its chief executive, met Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Narendra Modi. He was also invited to Donald Trump's inauguration in January.
The UK's Strategic Defence Review, published this month, set out plans for Britain to ramp up defence spending with a focus on AI.
Last year, Scale AI secured its first public contract with the British Government, working with the AI Security Institute on a project exploring whether AI bots can deceive people.
Meta's major investment in Scale AI has prompted fears from some of its biggest customers over Mr Zuckerberg's influence over the business. It was reported that Google and OpenAI had paused work with Scale in the wake of the deal.
Last week, Jason Droege, Scale AI's interim chief executive, insisted it 'remains, unequivocally, an independent company' and said Meta would have no access to information about rivals.
A Scale AI spokesman said: 'Scale remains an independent company. We're actively engaging with the UK government, demonstrating how our AI solutions can enhance operations across various departments, including both civilian and defence.'
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