Scale AI's Wang brings to Meta knowledge of what everyone else is doing
Scale AI co-founder Alexandr Wang is such an enthusiastic networker that his former roommate – OpenAI chief executive officer Sam Altman – once jokingly told him to tone it down a bit.
Fortunately for Wang, he ignored the advice. Last week, the 28-year-old parlayed his ability to cultivate influential relationships into a US$14.3bil investment from Meta in Scale, and a new job for himself in Meta's "superintelligence' group, reporting to CEO Mark Zuckerberg. His own cash and equity in the deal is worth more than US$5bil, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. What Meta is buying: the one guy who knows what everyone else in the AI industry is doing.
In recent months, Wang has become close with Zuckerberg and has spent time at the Meta CEO's houses in Tahoe and Palo Alto, California, discussing the future of AI, according to people familiar with the matter. Zuckerberg developed a strong admiration for him, the people said. Wang is also close with Altman, who before OpenAI used to run the elite startup accelerator Y Combinator. Scale went through YC in 2016, and the two men lived together for a period during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to other people who know the two men.
At first glance, the Wang hiring looks a lot like the other expensive not-quite-acquisitions by Meta's big tech competitors. Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet have also thrown gargantuan sums at AI researchers with advanced degrees and experience building cutting-edge models, sometimes by inking licensing deals with their companies. But Wang stands out because he's not an academic nor is he running a prominent AI model maker – he's just really good at knowing what's going on in the industry. His company, Scale, deals with the grunt work of human-powered data collection that's needed to build machine learning models, and most of the important companies have been his customers.
With the Scale investment, Zuckerberg may gain leverage over some of his biggest AI rivals. Either those companies, including OpenAI and Google, continue to use Scale and help bolster a business Zuckerberg now owns 49% of, or they're forced to go find an alternative to Scale, which may slow their progress. (OpenAI intends to stick with Scale, while Google is reportedly planning to cut ties.) It's likely Wang also has valuable insights into Zuckerberg's competitors from his time partnering with them the last several years. Wang's network and reach extends beyond those firms, too.
Since he co-founded Scale at 19, Wang has befriended other founders of billion-dollar startups such as Plaid, Figma and Brex. Wang has also curried favor with right-wing influencers and Republican lawmakers in Washington, in part by hammering concerns about China. In the process, Scale has racked up increasingly large government contracts. Going forward, those ties could also benefit Meta as it works to break into defense tech.
Wang reaches out directly to keep up relationships with a dizzying number of people, in both junior and senior roles, and knows what they're working on and what they want to be doing, according to a close contact, who declined to be named speaking publicly about Wang. "He knows everyone' in the AI world, that person said.
Even Altman, an accomplished networker in his own right, teased Wang last year about his incessant need to be socialising. "This is authoritative, truly no one flies in and out to more parties than you,' Altman tweeted at him. "It looks like a full time job.'
'High Beta' founder
When Wang was born, in 1997, his Chinese immigrant parents named him Alexandr – missing the final e – because they wanted the numerologically lucky benefits of an eight-letter name, he once explained on a podcast. The number 8 is associated with wealth and prosperity in Chinese culture. Wang's parents were both physicists who worked at the Los Alamos National Lab in New Mexico; Wang inherited their braininess. He won math competitions in grade school, became a nationally ranked mathlete, and studied the violin. "My sport was math,' he later recounted on a podcast.
He finished high school early and enrolled at Massachusetts Institute of Technology but itched to start his own company. Even though his parents and two older brothers all have doctorates, he dropped out of college to move to San Francisco. "I always wanted to be doing more, or wanted to be accomplishing more,' he said in a video for Forbes. He reassured his parents he was going to go back – "a little white lie,' he said.
In 2016, he teamed up with Lucy Guo, a Thiel Fellow, which means the billionaire Peter Thiel financially backed her choice to quit college because of her brilliance. The pair applied to YC with the idea for a doctor-booking app.
During the 10-minute interview for YC, Wang came across as having a mix of potential and ego, YC partner Jessica Livingston recalled on the accelerator's podcast The Social Radars. "May be arrogant or brilliant – I think the former,' she wrote in her notes at the time. "But worth funding.'
Other YC partners described the founder as "high beta,' using an investing term to mean volatility. "Describing a founder as 'high beta' means they're either going to flame out or take over the world,' YC founder Paul Graham posted about Wang.
Within a few weeks of starting at YC, Wang and Guo realised the doctor-appointment idea was too steep a struggle and decided to pivot to a new idea. Wang had been inspired by recent advancements in machine learning; months earlier, the world's best human Go player had lost to a Go-playing AI. He and Guo decided to sell data-labeling services to other companies who needed to amass training data to feed into AI projects.
Scale initially called itself an "Uber for AI' because it offered contractors around the world the chance to make money by labeling data – for example, looking at imagery from self-driving cars and labeling obstacles, vehicles, signs and pedestrians. The startup quickly raised from top-tier investors. But two years after founding, the co-founders' relationship turned sour. After a dispute, Wang fired Guo and continued running the startup himself.
AI whisperer
As AI models continued to advance at a dramatic pace, Scale positioned itself as a key provider of the underlying data infrastructure. It was less flashy than building frontier models, but it was a lucrative business selling the work that still needed to be done by humans to the people building models that would replace them.
Scale is not the only provider of data-labeling services, but Wang's star power, network and fundraising prowess helped make it the best known in the field. In the process, Wang and Scale also emerged as lightning rods for criticisms about the unseen workforce behind today's AI services.
As Wang and Guo were on their way toward becoming billionaires, Scale worked with thousands of contractors in countries like Kenya and the Philippines who were paid relatively little to weed through reams of online data, with some saying they have suffered psychological trauma from the content they're asked to review. In a 2019 interview with Bloomberg, Wang said the company's contract workers earn "good' pay – "in the 60th to 70th percentile of wages in their geography.'
Wang also pursued government contracts and impressed lawmakers with youth and confidence. In meetings in Washington, Wang came across as "authoritative and direct' and made a concerted effort to meet with the Biden administration, said one former Biden staffer. Wang "almost enjoyed' being underestimated because of his age, said a former Scale employee who accompanied him on trips to the capital. In 2020, the company landed a US$90mil contract with the Defense Department; in 2022, that expanded to a deal to make its technology available to all federal agencies, under a US$250mil purchase agreement. The outlet Semafor soon dubbed him "Washington's AI Whisperer.'
As Scale grew, so did Wang's wealth and profile. By 2022, at age 25, Forbes was calling him the youngest self-made billionaire. Scale threw posh private gatherings for the who's-who of AI, like a 2023 conference in the Utah mountains where, in between archery sessions and elevated dining, attendees discussed the threat of China's advancements in AI. Wang attended the Met Gala and frequently posted selfies hanging out with the Mad Men actress Kiernan Shipka. He spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and was included on Time's 2024 list of the 100 most influential people. (Altman wrote the short blurb about Wang for the magazine's list, calling him a "longtime friend.')
Guo, Wang's ousted co-founder, is no longer involved in Scale, but her shares in the company also led Forbes to label her a self-made billionaire this year. She bought a luxury condo in Miami and threw a party with a rented lemur and snake, which provoked ire from her wealthy neighbours and prompted the New York Post to deem her "Miami's No. 1 party girl.'
Courting the manosphere
In the past year, Wang has made overtures toward right-wing personalities and values. In June 2024, he announced that Scale's hiring policy would be based on "MEI' – "merit, excellence and intelligence,' a rebuttal to the diversity, equity and inclusion policies that were widely adopted by tech companies in the 2010s and have since been rejected and derided by many conservatives. In January, Wang attended Trump's inauguration and palled around with right-wing influencers such as the Paul brothers and the Nelk Boys. In one viral clip from the inauguration, comedian Theo Von falls backward and crashes into Logan Paul when his folding chair breaks; Wang and Altman are sitting a few feet away.
After Wang met Von at the inauguration, Von had him as a guest on his popular podcast, one of several prominent shows that helped propel Trump to the White House. Wang, in a camo-print trucker hat with the word "GODSPEED' embroidered across the front, explained to Von the basics of AI and pressed the point that the US risks losing its lead to China. "Dude, you should be a superhero,' said Von, with awe in his voice. Wang replied, "Math goes a long way,' to which Von added, "Oh, hell yeah, dude – divide these nuts.'
Wang has taken warnings about China's AI prowess to more serious forums, too. "If we as Americans want to defend our way of life, our ideologies, and democracy broadly, it's important for us to stay ahead,' Wang told Bloomberg this winter at Davos. In January, Scale AI took out a full-page advertisement in the Washington Post stating: "America must win the AI war.' That message has resonated in Washington as DeepSeek and other Chinese AI startups have released increasingly competitive AI models.
Wang's recent moves echo those of Zuckerberg, who has also been cozying up to Trump. Meta rolled back its diversity efforts and weakened its hate-speech policies. They are starting to act alike in other ways; both Wang and Zuckerberg now sport curly mops of hair and favour streetwear fashion while appearing on right-leaning podcasts (Zuckerberg has been a guest with both Joe Rogan and Von).
The two CEOs share the rare distinction of having both been, at one time or another, the world's youngest self-made billionaire. Now, one of them will be the other's boss. – Bloomberg
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Thailand eyes greater share of booming global halal market worth US$3.1 trillion by 2027
BANGKOK (The Nation Thailand/ANN): Thailand's Commerce Ministry is positioning the kingdom to capture a greater share of the rapidly expanding global halal food market, which is projected to reach US$3.1 trillion by 2027, as the nation seeks to capitalise on what officials describe as a "golden opportunity". The global halal market, once considered niche, has evolved into a mainstream sector driven by a burgeoning Muslim population and increasing per capita spending amongst Muslim consumers worldwide. United Nations statistics for 2024 show Muslims account for 1.907 billion people, or 23.5% of the world's total population of 8.119 billion. This figure is projected to surge to 2.761 billion by 2050, representing nearly 30% of humanity and underscoring the immense potential of the halal market. According to Salaam Gateway, a leading Islamic economy research institute, the global halal product market was valued at $2.35 trillion in 2024. Food and beverages dominate this expansive market, accounting for US$1.38 trillion—nearly 59% of total halal market value. Other significant sectors include fashion, media and recreation, tourism, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. By 2027, halal food and beverages alone are expected to reach US$1.89 trillion. Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, Director General of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office at the Commerce Ministry, highlighted Thailand's strong position in the sector. In 2024, Thai food exports to Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries reached $7.1313 billion, marking robust 6.3% growth. "This solidifies Thailand's presence in the OIC market and signals a golden opportunity for Thai entrepreneurs to capitalise on surging global demand for halal products in 2025 and beyond," Poonpong said. He emphasised that halal food's appeal extends beyond Muslim consumers due to its adherence to strict Islamic production principles, ensuring cleanliness and hygiene. This perception of safety and quality is attracting a wider consumer base, fuelling continuous growth in demand, particularly within OIC nations. Globally, halal food and beverage exports to OIC countries totalled $247.362 billion in 2024, up 6.9% from 2023. Whilst major exporters include Brazil, India, China, Turkey, and the United States, Thailand currently ranks as the 10th largest food exporter to the OIC market. Key importers of halal food and beverages within the OIC include Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. For Thailand, halal food exports represent a crucial economic and trade strategy. Indonesia, Malaysia, Iraq, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia collectively form Thailand's largest markets, accounting for 68.5% of its OIC food exports. Key products include rice, tinned tuna, sugar, pet food, and seasonings. Thailand maintains a competitive edge through its product quality, food processing capabilities, and credible halal certification system. OIC countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, represent high-potential markets with substantial average per capita purchasing power and demand for internationally standardised halal food. To strengthen its position and accelerate market expansion, Thailand must uphold its reputation as a producer of high-quality halal food, continuously develop product standards, and engage in proactive marketing within the OIC bloc. - The Nation Thailand/ANN
The Star
7 hours ago
- The Star
Singapore's Lawrence Wong heads to China for first official visit as PM
This will be Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's first trip to China since taking office in May 2024. - Photo: ST file BEIJING: Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will make a five-day official visit to China from Sunday (June 22), where he will seek to chart the strategic direction of bilateral ties with Chinese leaders. This will be his first trip to China since taking office in May 2024. In Beijing, he is scheduled to meet the country's top three leaders — President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and National People's Congress chairman Zhao Leji. The trip will allow both sides to reaffirm their commitment to strengthening ties and is 'an opportunity for leaders to discuss bilateral issues as well as regional and global developments', the Prime Minister's Office said on June 22. The visit comes as Singapore and China mark the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations. In 2023, they upgraded ties to an 'All Round High Quality Future Oriented Partnership'. PM Wong will also travel to Tianjin – a port city about 1.5 hours south-east of Beijing by car – to attend an event commonly known as 'Summer Davos'. He will take part in a dialogue with World Economic Forum (WEF) president Børge Brende. The official name for 'Summer Davos' is the WEF Annual Meeting of the New Champions. Although this is PM Wong's introductory visit to China in his new capacity as head of Singapore's fourth-generation leadership, he is returning to familiar ground. Since entering politics in 2011, he has visited China almost every year except during the Covid-19 pandemic. His previous China-related roles included co-chairing the Singapore-Sichuan Trade and Investment Committee and overseeing the Tianjin Eco-City when he was Minister for National Development. He last visited China in December 2023, when as Deputy Prime Minister he co-chaired the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation with Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang. Following his appointment as Prime Minister in 2024, DPM Gan Kim Yong took over that role. Singapore has prioritised keeping ties with China warm through regular high-level engagements. Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong visited China in November 2024 and met President Xi. Economic links between the two countries remain strong and mutually beneficial. China has been Singapore's largest goods trading partner for over a decade, accounting for about 13 per cent of the Republic's global goods trade in 2024. Singapore is China's largest foreign investor. For this trip to China, PM Wong will be joined by a new member of his Cabinet – Acting Minister for Transport and Senior Minister of State for Finance Jeffrey Siow – who entered politics in the May 2025 General Election. Another new face is Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi, a former Nominated Member of Parliament who contested the 2025 GE as a People's Action Party candidate. He was appointed in May as Senior Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of National Development, and will be sworn in later in 2025. Other members of PM Wong's delegation include Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations Grace Fu, and Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs Sim Ann. After the official visit, PM Wong will be on leave on June 27, his office said. While he is away, DPM Gan, who is also Minister for Trade and Industry, will serve as Acting Prime Minister from June 22 to 25. Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam will take over from June 26 to 27. - The Straits Times/ANN
The Star
7 hours ago
- The Star
China urges US to ‘look at the whole picture' on tariffs to see true trade ties
The envoys of the world's two leading powers painted starkly different pictures of US-China ties, each offering a competing assessment of the state of their economic relations – as a recently agreed framework to ease trade tensions hung in limbo. Speaking at the US-China Business Council in Washington on Wednesday, Chinese ambassador Xie Feng called the trade relationship 'generally balanced' and tariffs on Chinese imports 'still unreasonably high', warning that the US goods deficit would not shrink while export controls, visa denials, and barriers to Chinese firms persist. 'We are willing to buy more from America,' Xie said, adding that 'unfortunately' the US had imposed 'strict restrictions on the exports of its most competitive products, such as semiconductors, and shut the door on Chinese enterprises, buyers, tourists and students who want to invest and spend in the US'. 'If one is reluctant to sell others what they want, how can it ever get its deficit reduced by exporting only products like soybeans and beef?' Since 2022, the US has steadily tightened restrictions on China's access to American technology over concerns it could fuel military advancements. These curbs intensified under US President Donald Trump's second term. However, earlier this month, the US agreed to ease some restrictions and allow Chinese students unhindered access to American universities in exchange for increased exports of critical minerals from China. Talks between the two sides in London produced a framework to implement the trade consensus reached in May in Geneva regarding Trump's new tariffs on Chinese imports – now reduced from 125 per cent to 55 per cent. Xie said the current US tariffs on China were 'still unreasonably high, will severely constrain and undercut bilateral trade and should be removed completely'. He added that it was 'unrealistic to try to block the flow of capital, technology and talents in a globalised world, if any country builds up barriers, these resources will naturally flow elsewhere'. Since June last year, the China-US trade has dropped by 8 per cent, while China's trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and EU countries grew by 9 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, David Perdue, America's newly posted ambassador to Beijing, said that trade should be a means by which sovereign nations provide benefits to their citizens, 'not an ideological goal to be pursued in favour of transforming the world'. He added that Trump's vision was to have a trading relationship with China based on reciprocity, fairness and respect, 'one of which the United States puts the American people first, just as China does for its own people'. 'Our mission in China is to do everything we can to make that vision happen and to make America safer, stronger and more prosperous,' Perdue emphasised, blaming unfettered globalisation for making US business 'overly dependent' on China for components, inputs, intermediate goods and even entire supply chains. 'Our economy cannot be so dependent on foreign supply chains that can be severed at any moment,' he said. Addressing US businesses' concerns about losing the Chinese market due to strained bilateral relations, Perdue said that the administration understands the 'risk of change' and 'we will be there to support you and protect you from unfair practices'. However, Xie urged the US to 'look at the whole picture' to see that 'the benefits our two countries have taken from bilateral trade are generally balanced'. 'Any selective reading of the statistics would be misleading,' he added. Xie said that focusing only on goods trade overlooked the US surplus in services, American firms' strong revenues in China, the heavy environmental and resource costs China has borne, and the fact that the 'Chinese people have chosen to spend much of the trade gains buying a large amount of US Treasury bonds'. After Japan and Britain, China is the third-largest holder of US Treasuries – government debt securities used to finance federal spending. In December last year, China's holdings fell to US$759 billion, the lowest level since February 2009, when they stood at US$744.2 billion. By March, China had slightly reduced its holdings again, to US$765.4 billion. The senior officials' remarks came weeks after the latest US-China trade talks in London. The meeting was believed to focus on semiconductors and critical minerals, areas in which Washington and Beijing hold significant leverage over each other, respectively. Yet neither Beijing nor Washington has released an official readout of the dialogue since the negotiations ended, hinting at considerable uncertainty. Delegations from both sides said the trade agreement would require approval from their leaders, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Shortly after the negotiations, Trump on social media said a deal with Beijing was 'done', adding that China would supply full magnets and any necessary rare earths 'up front'. Beijing has yet to issue a comprehensive response regarding its take on the talks, nor has Xi commented on them publicly. Meanwhile, US investor sentiment towards China has declined sharply. According to a survey last month by the China General Chamber of Commerce-USA, nearly half of the more than 100 Chinese companies who responded said they planned to reduce their investment in the US. The shift was also evident last month at the Commerce Department-backed SelectUSA Investment Summit, where only about 50 Chinese delegates attended, down from roughly 180 in 2018. Xie's remarks also came against the backdrop of escalating tensions between Israel and Iran. The Jewish state last week launched air strikes on the Islamic Republic, targeting Iranian nuclear facilities amid ongoing nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran. Israel's strikes have led to the deaths of multiple Iranian army heads and nuclear professionals. In retaliation, Iran carried out air strikes against Israel, causing casualties in Tel Aviv. Trump has issued ambiguous messages about whether the US would join Israel in striking Iran, a prospect that has stirred divisions in Washington and among his own supporters. On social media, Trump claimed the US knew the exact location of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, hinting at a possible assassination and calling on Tehran to surrender unconditionally. Tehran responded that it would not surrender. In China, Xi affirmed Beijing's willingness to mediate the crisis in a development anticipated by many as the country seeks greater visibility and sway in the Middle East. Foreign Minister Wang Yi has reached out to regional stakeholders, including his counterparts in Israel, Iran, Egypt and Oman. Wang has called for peace and condemned Israel's attacks. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
