Meta Platforms is in talks to make an investment that could exceed $10 billion in Scale AI, an artificial intelligence startup currently valued at $13.8 billion. Bloomberg News reported on the not-yet-finalised deal on June 8, 2025, which would mark Meta's largest external AI investment to date. Scale AI, founded in 2016, provides data labelling services to tech giants such as Microsoft and OpenAI, helping them train their AI models.
Scale AI generated $870 million in revenue last year and projects $2 billion in revenue for 2025, representing a 130% growth. The company, backed by Nvidia, Amazon, and Meta, has contributors in more than 9,000 cities and provides a platform for researchers to exchange AI-related information. Meta previously participated in Scale AI's $1 billion Series F round, which valued the company at $13.8 billion, and Scale AI built Defense Llama, a large language model designed for military use, on top of Meta's Llama 3 model.
This potential investment would not only be Meta's largest external AI investment but also one of the largest funding events ever for a private company. The Department of Labor recently dropped its investigation into whether Scale AI was misclassifying and underpaying employees, marking a significant milestone for the company. The strengthening partnership between Meta and Scale AI demonstrates the growing strategic importance of AI technologies for tech giants, while Scale AI's revenue projections reflect the increasing market demand for AI-based data labelling services.
Sources:
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Anthony Ha
2.
Reuters
3.
Meta Platforms is reportedly negotiating an investment—potentially exceeding $10 billion—in data‑labeling startup Scale AI
