Meta’s big bet on AI didn’t start with its $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI. Before that, the company tried to acquire Perplexity AI, but the deal fell through. According to sources, Meta and Perplexity parted ways amicably, without any major conflicts.
After the Perplexity deal failed, Meta turned its attention to Scale AI, eventually taking a 49% stake in the company. Although this investment doesn’t give Meta any voting rights, it has led to some key personnel changes. Alexandr Wang, Scale AI’s founder, and some of its top employees have joined Meta to work on AI development.
Meta’s AI ambitions don’t stop there. The company has also tried to acquire Safe Superintelligence, which is valued at over $32 billion. As part of this effort, Meta has hired Daniel Gross and Nat Friedman, the former CEO of GitHub, to join its AI team.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has revealed that Meta even offered his employees a $100 million signing bonus to join the company. This is all part of Mark Zuckerberg’s plan to accelerate Meta’s AI development and catch up with competitors like OpenAI and Google. With Meta feeling like it’s falling behind in both AI models and practical applications, the company is making some big moves to get back in the game.
Meta’s AI Investments
Meta’s investments in AI are a clear indication of the company’s commitment to this technology. With its stake in Scale AI and its attempts to acquire other AI companies, Meta is positioning itself for a major push into the AI space.
Key Players
Some key players in Meta’s AI efforts include:
- Alexandr Wang, founder of Scale AI
- Daniel Gross, former CEO of GitHub
- Nat Friedman, former CEO of GitHub
- Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI
- Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta
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