Meta Acquires 49% of Scale AI in $14.8B Deal
Meta Platforms has finalized a massive $14.8 billion purchase of a 49% stake in Scale AI, a leading data labeling firm that helps with high-quality artificial intelligence creation. The deal is a sign of CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s mounting desperation to accelerate Meta’s creation of artificial general intelligence (AGI).
Alexandr Wang to be part of Meta’s Superintelligence Initiative
As part of the acquisition, Scale AI founder and CEO Alexandr Wang will join Meta to co-lead a newly formed “Superintelligence” group. The initiative aims to push beyond current AI limitations and position Meta at the forefront of AGI development.
Reports suggest Zuckerberg is personally assembling the team, frustrated by what he sees as Meta’s underperformance in the AI arms race.
AI’s Future: General Intelligence Within Reach?
Experts uphold that AGI, one that can have human-level intelligence and reasoning, is not necessarily distant. SingularityNET founder Ben Goertzel predicts that AGI will materialize within one to three years. He prefers decentralized approaches to guaranteeing safety and openness.
Tech Giants Step Up AI Spending
Zuckerberg’s action is part of a wider increase in AI investments. U.S. technology giants — Meta, Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft — are expected to invest $320 billion in AI and data centers in 2025, up from $230 billion last year, according to CNBC.
There has been a 16% increase in AI-related capital spending this year, according to Bloomberg Intelligence, as an increasing sense of urgency grips the industry.
Infrastructure Stocks Surge on AI Boom
Infrastructure businesses are already benefiting from this gold rush for AI. Goldman Sachs found that stocks in data center and electrical equipment businesses have grown 52% and 39%, respectively, since April.
With Meta’s recent high-risk bet, the scramble for AGI is underway — and the companies building the foundation of AI might be the biggest beneficiaries.
