Latest news with #AlexandrWang
CNA
3 hours ago
- Business
- CNA
Meta's Zuckerberg hiring for new 'superintelligence' AI team, Bloomberg News reports
Mark Zuckerberg, the billionaire CEO of Meta Platforms is setting up a team of experts to achieve so-called "artificial general intelligence" (AGI), or machines that can match or surpass human capabilities, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday. Zuckerberg is building the new AI team in tandem with a reported investment of over $10 billion in Scale AI, Bloomberg News said citing sources, adding that Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang was expected to join the AGI group after a deal is done. Reuters could not immediately verify the Bloomberg report. Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours. Zuckerberg's plans to personally recruit around 50 people, including a new head of AI research for the AGI team is driven partly by frustration over the performance and reception of Meta's latest large language model, Llama 4, Bloomberg News reported. Last month, Meta delayed the release of its flagship "Behemoth" AI model due to concerns about its capabilities, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Meta's Zuckerberg hiring for new 'superintelligence' AI team, Bloomberg News reports
(Reuters) -Mark Zuckerberg, the billionaire CEO of Meta Platforms is setting up a team of experts to achieve so-called "artificial general intelligence" (AGI), or machines that can match or surpass human capabilities, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday. Zuckerberg is building the new AI team in tandem with a reported investment of over $10 billion in Scale AI, Bloomberg News said citing sources, adding that Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang was expected to join the AGI group after a deal is done. Reuters could not immediately verify the Bloomberg report. Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours. Zuckerberg's plans to personally recruit around 50 people, including a new head of AI research for the AGI team is driven partly by frustration over the performance and reception of Meta's latest large language model, Llama 4, Bloomberg News reported. Last month, Meta delayed the release of its flagship "Behemoth" AI model due to concerns about its capabilities, the Wall Street Journal reported. Rivals like OpenAI have also been looking to make changes to attract further investment in a bid to develop AGI. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
New York Times
3 hours ago
- Business
- New York Times
Meta Is Creating a New A.I. Lab to Pursue ‘Superintelligence'
Meta is preparing to unveil a new artificial intelligence research lab dedicated to pursuing 'superintelligence,' a hypothetical A.I. system that exceeds the powers of the human brain, as the tech giant jockeys to stay competitive in the technology race, according to four people with the knowledge of the company's plans. Meta has tapped Alexandr Wang, 28, the founder and chief executive of the A.I. start-up Scale AI, to join the new lab, the people said, and has been in talks to invest billions of dollars in his company as part of a deal that would also bring other Scale employees to the company. Meta has offered seven- to nine-figure compensation packages to dozens of researchers from leading A.I. companies such as OpenAI and Google, with some agreeing to join, according to the people. The new lab is part of a larger reorganization of Meta's A.I. efforts, the people said. The company, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has recently grappled with internal management struggles over the technology, as well as employee churn and several product releases that fell flat, two of the people said. Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's chief executive, has invested billions of dollars into turning his company into an A.I. powerhouse. Since OpenAI released the ChatGPT chatbot in 2022, the tech industry has raced to build increasingly powerful A.I. Mr. Zuckerberg has pushed his company to incorporate A.I. across its products, including in its smart glasses and a recently released app, Meta AI. Staying in the race is crucial for Meta, Google, Amazon and Microsoft, with the technology likely to be the future for the industry. The giants have pumped money into start-ups and their own A.I. labs. Microsoft has invested more than $13 billion in OpenAI, while Amazon has plowed $8 billion into the A.I. start-up Anthropic. The behemoths have also spent billions to hire employees from high-profile start-ups and license their technology, essentially buying everything but the companies. Last year, Google agreed to pay $3 billion to license technology and hire technologists and executives from a start-up that builds chatbots for personal conversations. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Entrepreneur
4 hours ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Meta Considers Over USD 10 Billion Investment in Scale AI
Meta had already participated in Scale AI's USD 1 billion Series F round last year, which valued the firm at USD 13.8 billion You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Meta is reportedly in discussions to invest more than USD 10 billion in Scale AI, in what could become its largest external artificial intelligence (AI) investment to date, according to multiple media sources. If finalised, the deal would also rank among the largest private funding rounds ever seen in the AI sector. Scale AI, led by CEO Alexandr Wang, specialises in data labelling services that support the development of machine learning models for companies such as Microsoft and OpenAI. Meta had already participated in Scale AI's USD 1 billion Series F round last year, which valued the firm at USD 13.8 billion. Further reports suggest that Scale AI is exploring a tender offer that could lift its valuation to as high as USD 25 billion. Other major investors in the company include Microsoft. Scale AI has also played a role in defence technology, having developed 'Defence Llama'—a large language model built for military use based on Meta's Llama 3. With a mission to accelerate the progress of AI, Scale AI aims to streamline the transition from raw data to functional AI models. Its core belief is that high-quality, well-labelled data is key to better AI outcomes. The company provides scalable, reliable infrastructure that supports organisations across industries from healthcare to transport seeking to harness the full potential of AI.
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Meta in talks for Scale AI investment that could top $10 billion
Meta Platforms Inc . is in talks to make a multibillion-dollar investment into artificial intelligence startup Scale AI , according to people familiar with the matter. The financing could exceed $10 billion in value, some of the people said, making it one of the largest private company funding events of all time. The terms of the deal are not finalised and could still change, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. A representative for Scale did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Meta declined to comment. Scale AI, whose customers include Microsoft Corp. and OpenAI, provides data labeling services to help companies train machine-learning models and has become a key beneficiary of the generative AI boom. The startup was last valued at about $14 billion in 2024, in a funding round that included backing from Meta and Microsoft. Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that Scale was in talks for a tender offer that would value it at $25 billion. This would be Meta's biggest ever external AI investment, and a rare move for the company. The social media giant has before now mostly depended on its in-house research, plus a more open development strategy, to make improvements in its AI technology. Meanwhile, Big Tech peers have invested heavily: Microsoft has put more than $13 billion into OpenAI while both Inc. and Alphabet Inc. have put billions into rival Anthropic. Part of those companies' investments have been through credits to use their computing power. Meta doesn't have a cloud business, and it's unclear what format Meta's investment will take. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has made AI Meta's top priority, and said in January that the company would spend as much as $65 billion on related projects this year. The company's push includes an effort to make Llama the industry standard worldwide. Meta's AI chatbot — already available on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — is used by 1 billion people per month. Scale, co-founded in 2016 by CEO Alexandr Wang, has been growing quickly: The startup generated revenue of $870 million last year and expects sales to more than double to $2 billion in 2025, Bloomberg previously reported. Scale plays a key role in making AI data available for companies. Because AI is only as good as the data that goes into it, Scale uses scads of contract workers to tidy up and tag images, text and other data that can then be used for AI training. Scale and Meta share an interest in defense tech. Last week, Meta announced a new partnership with defense contractor Anduril Industries Inc. to develop products for the US military, including an AI-powered helmet with virtual and augmented reality features. Meta has also granted approval for US government agencies and defense contractors to use its AI models. The company is already partnering with Scale on a program called Defense Llama — a version of Meta's Llama large language model intended for military use. Scale has increasingly been working with the US government to develop AI for defense purposes. Earlier this year the startup said it won a contract with the Defense Department to work on AI agent technology. The company called the contract 'a significant milestone in military advancement.'
