Meta Faces Antitrust Heat with Massive Scale AI Bet - Here's What You Need to Know
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Meta dropped $14.3 billion on a non-voting stake in Scale AI, locking in one of the most aggressive bets on AI infrastructure this year. The deal values Scale at $29 billion and hands Meta direct access to the company’s data-labeling tools and one of its biggest assets – CEO Alexandr Wang.
Wang, who co-founded Scale in his early twenties, now joins Meta’s newly formed AI product group and reports directly to Mark Zuckerberg. Scale, meanwhile, shifts leadership to interim CEO Jason Droege. Wang stays on Scale’s board but shifts much of his focus to Meta’s AI push.
Meta isn’t buying control “technically.” But the structure does more than raise eyebrows. Critics say Meta just copied Microsoft’s playbook with OpenAI: dump billions into a minority stake, grab key leadership, and walk away with the real prize, i.e., strategic influence.
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That influence could trigger antitrust trouble. The Federal Trade Commission has signaled it won’t let minority stakes dodge scrutiny anymore. The agency is already looking harder at deals where cash and control don’t match on paper but do in practice.
Meta’s deal also disrupts the fragile balance among AI players. Scale works with a long list of companies. After this move, some of those partnerships may not last.
The timing adds fuel. Meta has struggled to match Google and OpenAI in AI research. Llama 4 didn’t generate the buzz Meta expected, and staff exits didn’t help. Bringing in Wang signals a shift. Meta wants product-ready AI, fast. And it’s willing to pay for it considerably.
The bet could still backfire. Lawmakers are pushing for new powers to review private tech deals, and the FTC already challenged a similar Microsoft-Inflection AI partnership earlier this year. Meta may find itself facing investigations before it sees returns.
But Meta’s move clearly signals that it is done playing defense in AI. The tech giant will spend billions if required to stay in the race, even if the regulators watch every move.
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