Scale said late on Thursday that the deal values it at $29 billion and its CEO Alexandr Wang will join Meta to play a prominent role in the Facebook owner's AI strategy.

Alexandr Wang dropped out of MIT to co-found Scale and was quickly lauded as one of Silicon Valley's most promising entrepreneurs, raising funding from blue-chip venture capital firms and achieving billionaire status in his 20s.

The investment by Meta for a 49 percent stake in Scale AI comes as the company is also developing what it calls “superintelligence.”

Technology Technology The Big Story  Meta invests in Scale AI, taps CEO for ‘superintelligence’ push Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is investing a

Meta is making an investment in artificial intelligence company Scale and recruiting Chief Executive Alexandr Wang to join a team developing “superintelligence” at the tech giant.

The parent company of Facebook is investing $14.3 billion in Scale AI, which offers a platform and training data for developing AI models.

Meta is making its first major minority investment in an outside company as it tries to catch up to a growing field of artificial intelligence rivals.

Staying in the AI race is crucial for Meta, Google, Amazon and Microsoft, with the technology likely to be the future for the industry.

(Reuters) -Facebook owner Meta's $14.8 billion investment in Scale AI and hiring of the data-labeling startup's CEO will test how the Trump administration views so-called acquihire deals, which some have criticized as an attempt to evade regulatory scrutiny.

Scale AI did not disclose the investment size, but a Wall Street Journal report said earlier this week that Meta could be eyeing a 49% stake, valued at around $14 billion.