Latest news with #AlexandrWang
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
19 People Becoming Billionaires In The AI Boom
Artificial intelligence (AI) is perhaps the most significant technological step forward since the introduction and proliferation of social media networks and ecommerce platforms, both in terms of its impact on the business world as well as society writ large. Read More: Find Out: It's no secret that the rapid rise of AI models — and the companies which either build, provide hardware to power, or simply leverage these tools in the marketplace — has led to a massive creation of capital. Who, exactly, are the most prominent new billionaires to profit from the AI boom? Forbes provided a few details outlining these personalities. Perhaps the most prominent of these newly minted AI billionaires, Alexandr Wang is the founder and CEO of Scale AI, a company which engaged in data labeling for other tech juggernauts such as OpenAI, Google and Meta. His current net worth was pegged at approximately $2 billion as of April, per Forbes. After dropping out of MIT at the age of 19, Wang is now poised to make another controversial move. According to TechCrunch, Wang received a very enticing offer to join Meta's AI team as the social media company redoubles its efforts to build a 'superintelligence' capable of dethroning competitors in the AI arms race. Founder and CEO of Chinese AI company DeepSeek, Wenfeng's firm rose to fame as a disruptor in the AI space, making headlines for months earlier this year due to the release of its free artificial intelligence tools which were said to rival paid options coming from OpenAI, among others. Wenfeng's estimated net worth as of April was about $1 million. Perhaps best known as CEO of one of the world's most famous tech companies, Google, since 2019, Pichai was in the driver's seat for Google's entry into the AI revolution via the release of its Gemini model. With Google shares having enjoyed a rapid increase in valuation — and despite the fact that Pichai owned just 0.02% of the company's total shares in April — at that time his net worth was pegged at around $1.1 billion. Splitting from OpenAI to form competitor Anthropic (known for its family of AI models, Claude), Amodei – alongside his sister, Daniela, in addition to Tom Brown, Jack Clark, Jared Kaplan, Sam McCandlish, Christopher Olah, all formerly of OpenAI — in 2021, Amodei's net worth was sketched out to rest at approximately $1.2 billion. His co-founders are reputed to have roughly equal the amount of wealth, as of April. Forbes also listed Michael Intrator, Brian Venturo, Brannin McBee, and Jack Cogen (CoreWeave); Joe Lonsdale (Palantir); Phil Shawe (TransPerfect); Yao Runhao (Paper Games); and Luis von Ahn as well as Severin Hacker (Duolingo) as part of the AI billionaire cast. More From GOBankingRates These Cars May Seem Expensive, but They Rarely Need Repairs This article originally appeared on 19 People Becoming Billionaires In The AI Boom
Time of India
17 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
ChatGPT-maker OpenAI joins Google, Microsoft in ‘cutting ties' with ScaleAI after Mark Zuckerberg paid it billions
OpenAI , the developer of ChatGPT, is in the process of phasing out its data-labeling work with startup Scale AI, a report has claimed. This decision comes just days after Facebook parent company Meta announced a multi-billion dollar investment in Scale AI and hired its founder, signaling new uncertainty for Scale's business. According to a report by Fortune, an OpenAI spokesperson said that Scale AI accounted for only a small fraction of OpenAI's overall data needs, adding that the ChatGPT maker was already in the process of reducing its reliance on Scale before Meta, a direct competitor to OpenAI, acquired a 49% stake in the firm. It is to be noted that OpenAI's CFO said that the company scaled down its reliance months ago but will continue working with Scale as one of its many vendors. OpenAI had reportedly been seeking other providers for more specialised data crucial for training increasingly advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models. Meta's $14.3 billion deal with ScaleAI Meta's substantial investment of $14.3 billion in Scale AI is part of a broader strategy to bolster its own AI capabilities. As part of the deal, Scale AI's CEO, Alexandr Wang , is transitioning to Meta to lead a new "superintelligence" unit focused on developing more powerful, hypothetical forms of AI software. Other Scale employees are also expected to join Wang at Meta. Founded in 2016, Scale AI has been a prominent provider of data labeling services essential for building AI models, with a client roster that notably included Google , Microsoft and Elon Musk's xAI . Recently, a report claimed that these companies are already moving to cut ties with Scale AI, citing concerns over potential conflicts of interest. They say that the social media giant may gain insights into their proprietary AI development efforts. AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Mint
21 hours ago
- Business
- Mint
Star chase: Why Mark Zuckerberg is deploying billions to acquire hot AI talent like Alexandr Wang for Meta
It sounded like something that should have come from the sports desk—a $14.3 billion transfer fee for a young up-and-coming prospect as Meta looks to rebuild its team for the tough season ahead. The head coach is an under-pressure Mark Zuckerberg, and the hot talent is Alexandr Wang, 28. His company is Scale AI, and Meta is taking a 49% stake, it was confirmed last week. Were this an acquisition, it would be the second largest in Meta's history after its $19 billion purchase of WhatsApp in 2014. But it's not an acquisition, so don't call it that, even though it bears many of the hallmarks of one. Wang is going to join Meta as a top executive tasked with running a crack team to build an AI superintelligence, sitting next to Zuckerberg at Meta's headquarters. Other Scale AI employees will join, too, according to multiple reports. So—definitely not an acquisition, just an investment that also includes putting the company's top talent on Meta's payroll. Meanwhile, Meta has been trying to poach AI talent from Google and OpenAI with the promise of 'seven-to nine-figure" salaries, the New York Times reported. Also Read: Brave Chinese voices have begun to question the hype around AI In its defence, Meta is hardly a pioneer here. As Bloomberg Tech's Jackie Davalos mentioned, this kind of squad building is becoming a regular occurrence. Microsoft signed Inflection AI's co-founders; Alphabet hired founders; took on Adept AI's chief executive officer. On none of these occasions did they acquire the actual companies. Two forces are driving this approach. The first, glaringly, is that big companies are particularly keen to avoid being seen to be making acquisitions right now when judges are deep in consideration over whether earlier actions, such as Meta's purchases of Instagram and WhatsApp, should be deemed illegal. For Meta, structuring the Scale AI deal as an investment means avoiding a long, turbulent timeline that would come with a buyout effort. But the second factor is what I find more interesting. Ever since the launch of ChatGPT, there's been no shortage of soul-searching among Big Tech firms as to why they didn't get there first. How could it be that the pioneering work was done outside of their campuses by individuals and companies with relative pennies compared with their R&D budgets? The reason, as evidenced by these hirings and investments, is the very nature of bigness. Also Read: Trump's policies assure China an edge in the race for AI dominance Now that the Big Tech companies are mature businesses, never has their inability to move quickly and take risks been more apparent. Does an Alexandr Wang find success at a place like Meta had he been hired as a young engineer? A company with 77,000 employees and a fierce focus on keeping Wall Street happy? One that's run by a CEO he would likely have never been able to meet, let alone be able to influence? Startups have always had an upper hand in this way, for sure, but the low barrier to entry for those with bright AI ideas means it has never been easier to attract attention. But then what? Founders are finding themselves staring at unfathomably large data centre costs to scale their businesses. When a hyperscaler like Meta comes knocking, it can look like the only sensible way forward. So the startup ecosystem may now behave like the minor leagues. Feeder clubs that are a breeding ground for talent waiting in the wings of the bigger teams with the deepest pockets. The talent leaves, but the club remains. In what form isn't quite clear, though at least investors get their money back. Also Read: Dave Lee: Apple must make peace with developers for AI success The approach may seem expensive, but it is certainly fast. Why would tech giants, seeking tighter headcounts these days, try to incubate these talents when they could just sit back and wait for special geniuses to make themselves known? Of course, there's a risk of losing talent to a competitor—hence the jacking up of compensation to levels that only the biggest companies could afford, consolidating AI expertise in just a few of the usual places. At the same time, some smaller companies may not want to be a feeder club and might feel unfairly treated as homegrown talent disappears after receiving an email from Zuckerberg offering $10 million to sign on—which is maybe just the beginning. We'll see just how long this approach remains possible. As Axios' Dan Primack has pointed out, antitrust authorities do have the power to go after these kinds of deals if they want. The Federal Trade Commission last year announced it was looking into them—just because they are not acquisitions doesn't mean they can't and won't be scrutinized. But for Meta and its peers, that's a later concern. Today's means assembling a squad as quickly as possible. ©Bloomberg The author is Bloomberg Opinion's US technology columnist.
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
OpenAI is phasing out Scale AI work following startup's Meta deal
OpenAI is phasing out the work it does with data-labeling startup Scale AI , cutting ties with the company days after Meta Platforms Inc. invested billions of dollars in it and hired its founder. Scale accounted for a small fraction of OpenAI's overall data needs, according to an OpenAI spokesperson who confirmed the firm's decision to phase out work with the company. The ChatGPT maker was already in the process of winding down its reliance on Scale before Meta, an OpenAI competitor, took a 49% stake in the firm, the spokesperson said, adding that OpenAI had been seeking other providers for more specialized data needed to support increasingly advanced artificial intelligence models. OpenAI's plans inject new uncertainty into Scale's business in the wake of Meta's unusual deal. Meta is investing $14.3 billion in Scale and has poached the startup's chief executive officer, Alexandr Wang , for a new so-called 'superintelligence' unit, focused on building a more powerful, and hypothetical, form of AI software. Other Scale employees are expected to follow Wang to Meta to work on AI.A Scale AI spokesperson declined to comment. Founded in 2016, Scale signed up prominent customers, including Alphabet Inc. 's Google, Meta and OpenAI, providing them with the data needed to build AI models. However, Meta's deal with Scale raised concerns that the social-media company may gain new visibility into its rivals' AI development efforts. Google plans to cut ties with Scale, Reuters reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. Right after the Meta deal was announced, OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar had signaled that the company intended to keep working with Scale. 'We don't want to ice the ecosystem because acquisitions are going to happen,' Friar said at the VivaTech conference in Paris last week. Over the past six to 12 months, however, OpenAI had determined that Scale was not the best fit for it because the AI developer needed more data expertise than Scale could provide, the OpenAI spokesperson said. OpenAI has shifted to building more advanced AI models that can mimic the process of human reasoning, as well as agent-like models that can carry out tasks with limited input from users. Forbes previously reported OpenAI had been winding down its Scale work for initially focused on working with an army of contractors to do the grunt work of labeling text and images for earlier AI systems. Scale has gradually enlisted better-paid contractors with doctorates, nursing and other advanced degrees to help develop more sophisticated models. Despite those efforts, OpenAI has increasingly relied on other data providers , including newer entrants like Mercor , according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Mercor was previously known for using AI for recruiting tech employees, but now focuses on finding experts to help AI companies develop more advanced models.
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Facebook-parent Meta in talks to hire former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman for its AI team: Report
Facebook-parent Meta is reportedly looking to bring former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman on board, reports The Information. As per the report, the aim is to support the company's artificial intelligence efforts. The report quoted a person familiar with the matter. It said that the social media giant is also in talks with Daniel Gross—Friedman's partner at investment firm NFDG—about a potential role related to AI at Meta. Additionally, Meta is considering a partial buyout of NFDG, the report said. These developments come as major tech firms continue to invest heavily in AI to maintain a competitive edge. Last week, Meta announced a $14.8 billion investment in Scale AI, its second-largest investment to date. The company also hired Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang to lead its newly formed superintelligence unit. Friedman currently serves on Meta's Advisory Group, an external council that offers guidance on technology and product strategy. As mentioned above, the company hired 28-year-old Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang as Superintelligence Chief recently. Meta signed an investment of $14.3 billion in Scale AI, taking a 49% stake in a deal. Confirming the partnership, Meta said: 'We will deepen the work we do together producing data for AI models, and Alexandr Wang will join Meta to work on our superintelligence efforts.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Perdagangkan CFD Emas dengan Broker Tepercaya IC Markets Mendaftar Undo Sending a memo to ScaleAI employees, Wang confirmed his exit from the company. He will remain on Scale's board. Scale's Chief Strategy Officer, Jason Droege, will serve as interim CEO. Wang also told employees that a small number of Scale's 1,500 workers will join him at Meta. Alcatel V3 Ultra Unboxing & Hands-on | Dual Display Mode, Sleek Design & More! AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
