Latest news with #Facebook-parent
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
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Scale AI may lose partnership with Microsoft, Google, ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and Elon Musk's xAI after Facebook's $14 billion investment
Google, the largest customer of AI data-labeling firm Scale AI, plans to end its relationship with the company following news that rival Facebook-parent company Meta is acquiring a 49% stake, a report said. Google had reportedly intended to pay Scale AI around $200 million this year for human-labeled training data, essential for developing advanced AI models like its ChatGPT competitor, Gemini. Citing five sources familiar with the matter, news agency Reuters reported that the move stems from concerns that Meta's significant investment could expose Google's proprietary AI research and roadmap to a key competitor. Reportedly, the search giant has already begun discussions with several of Scale AI's rivals this week, looking to shift this substantial workload. Not only Google, The unease isn't limited to Google. Other major tech companies using Scale AI's services, including Microsoft and Elon Musk's xAI, are also reportedly distancing themselves. The report also says that OpenAI, another significant AI developer, had already scaled back its engagement with Scale AI months ago, though its spending was considerably less than Google's. However, OpenAI's CFO recently stated that the company would continue working with Scale AI as one of its many data vendors. Why these companies are scaling back their involvement in Scale AI The primary concern among companies competing with Meta in cutting-edge AI model development is the risk of their research priorities and technical blueprints being exposed to a direct rival. Customers often share proprietary data and even prototype products with Scale AI's workers for data-labeling services. With Meta now holding a substantial stake, these AI firms fear their chief competitor could gain sensitive business and technical intelligence. What it may mean for Scale AI For Scale AI, this potential loss of Google's business comes as a blow, despite its recent valuation jump to $29 billion following Meta's investment (up from $14 billion pre-deal). Scale AI's core business heavily relies on a few major customers, making it vulnerable to such departures. While Scale AI intends to continue operations, its CEO, Alexandr Wang, along with some employees, are moving to Meta. The bulk of Scale AI's revenue comes from providing human trainers to annotate complex datasets for generative AI model makers, a service that can cost as much as $100 per annotation for sophisticated examples. Its largest revenue stream is from its partnerships with generative AI model makers.
Time of India
13-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Facebook-parent Meta hires 28-year-old Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang as Superintelligence Chief
Facebook-parent Meta is investing $14.3 billion in data-labeling startup Scale AI , taking a 49% stake in a deal. As part of the agreement, Scale's 28-year-old co-founder and CEO, Alexandr Wang, will join Meta to lead its new superintelligence unit, a major shift in the tech giant's AI strategy. Meta confirmed the partnership on Thursday, saying: '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.' As part of the deal, ScaleAI will be valued at $29 billion. Citing unnamed sources, Reuters reports that the main reason for Meta's sizable investment was to secure Wang's leadership. Unlike leaders at other AI labs who come from research backgrounds, Wang is seen as a business-oriented founder, similar to OpenAI's Sam Altman. By bringing him on board, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is aiming to revive the company's AI ambitions, which have recently fallen behind rivals like Google, OpenAI, and China's DeepSeek due to staff exits and delayed AI model launches. 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. Second-largest investment in Meta's history by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Memperdagangkan CFD Emas dengan salah satu spread terendah? IC Markets Mendaftar Undo With $14.3 billion investment, it is Meta's second-largest deal after its $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp. The company does not plan to take a board seat in Scale, the Reuters report said. Founded in 2016, Scale provides large volumes of labeled data essential for training advanced AI systems. It does this by managing gig workers through platforms like Remotasks and Outlier. In May 2024, it was valued at nearly $14 billion, with backers including Nvidia, Amazon, and Meta. Read Alexandr Wang's full note here Wang, a New Mexico native born to Chinese immigrant physicists, dropped out of MIT to start Scale and became a billionaire in his twenties. He has built strong relationships in Silicon Valley and Washington D.C., including with OpenAI's Sam Altman and U.S. lawmakers. Here's the full note shared by him on Twitter Gratitude Team— When I founded Scale in 2016, it was amidst some of the early Al breakthroughs—DeepMind had just released AlphaGo, and Google had just released Tensorflow—but it was still incredibly early. It was clear even then that data was the lifeblood of Al systems, and that was the inspiration behind starting Scale. Since then, the journey has been extraordinary. We've grown to over 1,500 people and become the trusted partner for model builders, enterprises, and governments building and deploying the smartest Al tools and applications. Scale is now one of the most impactful companies in the world, accelerating the development of what may be the most important technology in human history. Today, we are announcing a massive new investment from Meta. This is a major milestone and a powerful validation of the hard work you've all put into Scale's mission. With this foundation, it's now time to focus on the next chapter. Building this company alongside all of you has been my life—I started this company right out of freshman year of MIT and never looked back. Every moment and memory of the past decade has been surrounded by you all. And I wouldn't change a minute of it. When this opportunity first presented itself, my immediate reaction was uncertainty. The idea of not being a Scalien was, frankly, unimaginable. But as I spent time truly considering it, I realized this was a deeply unique moment, not just for me, but for Scale as well. It offered a rare chance to give back to everyone who has helped shape Scale, while setting the company on an even stronger trajectory for what's ahead. As you've probably gathered from recent news, opportunities of this magnitude often come at a cost. In this instance, that cost is my departure. It has been the absolute greatest pleasure of my life to serve as your CEO. As to what is next for me, I will be leaving Scale to join Meta to work on Meta's Al efforts, along with a few other Scaliens. While it is bittersweet to depart as CEO, I would never leave Scale behind. I'll stay on as a director on the Board, continuing to support Scale's mission and long-term vision. As part of my transition, I'm excited to share that Scale's Board of Directors and I have agreed that Jason Droege will step in as Interim CEO. Jason's superpowers in building and evolving businesses like Uber Eats and AXON give him the experience and skillset that make him the best person for this role. Jason knows our business and knows what Scale must do to execute on the immense opportunity ahead. Jason is also working closely with our board to hire a strong CTO to bolster our engineering teams. And let me be clear, I wouldn't be in such strong support if !weren't confident that Jason and the rest of the team are the right leaders to carry our mission forward. Today's investment also allows us to give back in recognition of your hard work and dedication to Scale over the past several years. The proceeds from Meta's investment will be distributed to those of you who are shareholders and vested equity holders, while maintaining the opportunity to continue participating in our future growth as ongoing equity holders. The exceptional team here has been the key to our success, so I'm thrilled to be able to return the favor with this meaningful liquidity distribution. Thank you for everything. Alex Android 16 IS HERE! Live Notifications, Tablet Desktop Mode & MORE! AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Time of India
12-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Facebook-parent Meta ‘struggles' to keep AI staff despite big salaries, claims report
Facebook-parent Meta is facing a wave of exits from its artificial intelligence (AI) team, as top talent increasingly moves to rivals such as OpenAI and Anthropic, according to The SignalFire State of Talent Report – 2025, dated May 20. It says that despite offering salaries of over $2 million a year, Meta is losing skilled AI professionals, reflecting a broader challenge in Big Tech as demand for AI experts surges. The report highlights Anthropic as the leader in retention, holding on to 80% of its AI employees—outpacing peers like DeepMind (78%), OpenAI (67%), and Meta (64%). As per the report, Anthropic's success is credited to a culture that values independence and encourages open debate, appealing to those frustrated by corporate bureaucracy. It has also managed to hire top talent from tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Stripe—and Meta itself. Venture capitalist Deedy Das recently shared a post on social platform X stating that despite Meta's high compensation offers, he observed three top-level exits to competitors in just one week. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với sàn môi giới tin cậy IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo 'Meta is currently offering $2M+/yr in offers for AI talent and still losing them to OpenAI and Anthropic. Heard ~3 such cases this week. The AI talent wars are absolutely ridiculous. Today, Anthropic has the highest ~80% retention 2 years in and is the #1 (large) company top AI researchers wants to go,' he wrote in the post. This comes at a time when Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is leading efforts to form a "superintelligence" team of about 50 experts to pursue artificial general intelligence (AGI). Meanwhile, Meta is also reportedly planning a $15 billion investment in Scale AI, a data-labelling company, to deepen its AI capabilities. In April, Joelle Pineau, Meta's VP of AI Research, stepped down—adding to concerns about Meta's ability to meet its AI goals, especially with a $65 billion infrastructure push planned for 2025. BRAVIA 2 II: 10 Things You MUST Know About the New Sony BRAVIA 55-Inch TV! AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Time of India
05-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Popular rapper Eminem sues Facebook-parent Meta for $109 million, here's why
Eminem takes Mark Zuckerberg's Meta to court. Grammy-winning rapper Eminem has filed a lawsuit of $109 million against Facebook-parent Meta accusing it of copyright infringement. The lawsuit, filed by Eminem's music publishing company, Eight Mile Style, accuses Meta of the "unauthorised storage, reproduction, and exploitation" of 243 of Eminem's songs across its per the court documents seen by People, Eight Mile Style alleges that Meta's in-app features, such as "Original Audio" and "Reels Remix," have actively encouraged and allowed users to incorporate Eminem's music into their video content without proper licensing or attribution. The lawsuit further claims that this has led to rapper's songs being used in millions of videos and streamed billions of times, resulting in diminished value of the copyrights and lost profits for the publisher. Eminem vs Meta: Unauthorised use of music As reported by People, the lawsuit alleges that Meta has allowed its users to store, reproduce and exploit Eminem's songs through features like Original Audio and Reels Remix, which enable users to incorporate music into their content without proper attribution or licensing. Eight Mile Style is seeking statutory damages of $150,000 per song, per platform (Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp), which could accumulate to the total sum exceeding $109 million. The publisher has also requested a jury trial and a permanent injunction to prevent Meta from future unauthorised use of Eminem's music. What Meta said on the lawsuit Meta has not yet issued a public comment directly on the lawsuit. However, a company by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Secure Your Child's Future with Strong English Fluency Planet Spark Learn More Undo spokesperson told People that the company has licenses with thousands of partners around the world and the company has also been negotiating with Eight Mile Style. 'Meta has licenses with thousands of partners around the world and an extensive global licensing program for music on its platforms. Meta had been negotiating in good faith with Eight Mile Style, but rather than continue those discussions, Eight Mile Style chose to sue,' said Meta spokesperson. AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
