Data labeling startup Scale AI has successfully closed a $1 billion financing round, elevating its valuation to nearly $14 billion. The round was spearheaded by Accel, with contributions from a mix of existing and new investors. Returning investors are Y Combinator, Nat Friedman, Index Ventures, Founders Fund, Coatue, Thrive Capital, Spark Capital, Nvidia, Tiger Global Management, Greenoaks, and Wellington Management. New investors joining this round include Cisco Investments, DFJ Growth, Intel Capital, ServiceNow Ventures, AMD Ventures, WCM, Amazon, Elad Gil, and Meta.
Scale AI’s core mission is to construct the “data foundry” for AI, a platform designed to accelerate the availability and quality of frontier data, which is crucial for the development of advanced AI models. The company has a proven track record of addressing complex data challenges for prominent organizations such as OpenAI, Meta, and Microsoft. This new influx of capital will enable Scale AI to enhance its model evaluation efforts for both public and private sectors, including collaborations with enterprise customers, the U.S. Department of Defense, and participation in the DEFCON 31 red-teaming event announced by the White House.
As AI models continue to evolve, the demand for extensive, high-quality, and complex data is increasing exponentially. Scale AI positions itself as the powerhouse behind the end-to-end AI lifecycle, ensuring that both model developers and enterprises have access to the essential data needed to confidently deploy AI technologies.
Alexandr Wang, CEO and founder of Scale AI, emphasized the importance of data abundance in driving AI advancements. He stated, “Data abundance is not the default; it’s a choice. It requires bringing together the best minds in engineering, operations, and AI. Our vision is one of data abundance, where we have the means of production to continue scaling frontier LLMs many more orders of magnitude. We should not be data-constrained in getting to GPT-10.”
Dan Levine, a partner at Accel, highlighted Scale AI’s pivotal role in the AI industry, stating, “From day one, Scale has been laser-focused on unlocking the potential of data for AI. All of the major advancements in the industry we have today wouldn’t have been possible without Scale’s data engine at the center. Their vision is why we first partnered with Scale in the earliest days and why we continue to believe that their expertise remains paramount in addressing the industry’s growing needs for high-quality data as the AI industry continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible.”
The combination of primary and secondary financing brought Scale AI’s valuation to $13.8 billion. J.P. Morgan and Allen & Co served as placement agents for Scale AI in this transaction.
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