🧠 Scale AI’s Supercharge: Meta Gets a $14B Slice of the Data Pie

Move over annotated data—you just became a multi-billion-dollar sector. Scale AI, the powerhouse behind the data fueling OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft, just sold a 49% stake to Meta for $14.3 billion, valuing the company near $29 billion. As AI demand accelerates, this deal signals that high-quality data pipelines are the crown jewels of the AI economy.

Data Foundry on Steroids

Scale doesn’t build models—it builds the engines and fuel: annotated, evaluated, red-teamed datasets powering everything from large language models to self-driving systems. What started as simple labeling has morphed into a comprehensive “data foundry” with clients across consumer AI, defense, enterprise, and governments (hello, DoD’s Thunderforge). Their recurring revenue is roaring toward $2 billion in 2025, and margins are juicy enough to make traditional SaaS blush. _{Reuters, Business Wire}

Meta’s Masterstroke (With a Side of Monopoly?!)

Meta’s massive investment isn’t just about data—it’s about talent and internal AI dominance. Scale’s CEO, Alexandr Wang, is now Meta’s “Superintelligence Chief,” and with Google, OpenAI, and xAI suspending contracts post-deal, competition just got spicy. _BI

The Geopolitical Data Frontline

This isn’t only Big Tech economics—it’s national strategy. Scale’s work with the DoD and EU governments highlights how data infrastructure is fast becoming mission-critical. Think AI arms races, corporate cold wars, and international alliances built on who has better training data first.

The Takeaway

Scale’s landmark deal spells a future where AI data is the real battleground. For founders—it’s validation that data-centric infrastructure can command both mindshare and mega capital. For investors—it’s a sign that the next boom won’t just be about models: it’ll be about the source code of intelligence: data.

P.S. - follow us on X for real time updates!

• 🧠 AI Everywhere: Over 50% of VC funding in Q1 2025 went to AI/ML, sparking concerns about groupthink and frothy valuations. _{Business Insider}
  

• 💰 Dry Powder Pile-Up: PE is sitting on $1 trillion in unspent capital, with exits delayed due to market uncertainty. _Reuters
  

• 🏗️ Infra Is In: Data centers, grids, and digital infra are leading deployment as the AI economy demands physical backbone. _WSJ
  

• 🌱 ESG Goes Core: Sustainability and impact aren’t just optics anymore—they’re top-line drivers in investment theses. _{PwC Report}

• 🤖 AI-Driven Dealflow: From diligence to ops, firms are baking AI into their back office, boosting efficiency and cutting costs. _McKinsey

🛡️ Autonomous AV’s Next Frontier: Applied Intuition Hits $15B Valuation

Company: Applied Intuition

Industry: Autonomous Vehicle (AV) Simulation Software

Latest Round: $600M Series F | Valuation: $15B

Investors: BlackRock, Kleiner Perkins, Lux Capital, General Catalyst

🧠 What They Do:

Applied Intuition builds simulation software that helps autonomous vehicle companies test and validate their systems in virtual environments. Their tech allows for the modeling of “edge cases”—rare but critical real-world scenarios—accelerating time to safety certification and deployment.

👤Founders:

• Qasar Younis (CEO): Former COO of Y Combinator, ex-Google, and co-founder of TalkBin (acquired by Google)

• Peter Ludwig (CTO): Former engineer at Palantir, Stanford alum
  Together, they bring deep experience in startup scaling, technical rigor, and enterprise-grade infrastructure.

📦Products & Capabilities

• Simulation Platform: End-to-end environment to test AV software against thousands of real-world edge cases.

• Sensor Modeling: Tools that emulate LiDAR, radar, and camera systems.

• Data Integration: Plug-in support for real-world telemetry and test data.

Used by industry leaders including Waymo, General Motors, Toyota, and Tesla.

📈Traction & Market Position:

• Serving dozens of OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers

• Revenue believed to be eight figures annually, with strong government and defense contracts

• Partnerships across both AV and defense mobility sectors

• Notable edge: simulation is now seen as essential infrastructure for AV progress

🌟Why It Matters

This raise isn't just about capital—it's about validation. Simulation has become a mission-critical layer for AV safety, compliance, and speed to market. Applied Intuition’s valuation jump (2x in under a year) reflects investor appetite for high-margin, infrastructure-like SaaS in mobility and defense.

Latest Fundraises from Major Firms (PE, VC, and Institutional Investors)

🚀 Venture Capital

• Felicis raised $900 million for its tenth fund, targeting early-stage AI and technology startups, with a focus on companies poised to become $100 billion+ enterprises..
  Felicis

• Climate Tech Partners completed a first close of $32.6 million for its debut fund, investing in early-stage climate startups in Australia and beyond.
  Climatetech

• Ecosystem Integrity Fund closed its fifth fund at $225 million, investing in sustainability-focused startups tackling climate and environmental challenges.
  _Axios

💼 Private Equity

• EQT is targeting approximately €23 billion for its eleventh flagship private equity fund, focusing on global buyouts in technology and healthcare.
  _EQT

• Quantum Capital Group is seeking $4.5 billion for its ninth flagship fund, concentrating on oil and gas investments.
  _WSJ

• Partners Group expanded its private credit evergreen fund to $2.3 billion in assets under management, offering flexible credit solutions for mid-market firms.
  _{Partners Group}

Top Jobs

Venture Capital roles

Analyst at Clocktower Group (Santa Monica, CA)

Analyst at Tower Research Ventures (New York, NY)

Analyst at Hitachi Ventures (Boston, MA)

Growth Equity Roles

Associate at TCV (New York, NY)

Associate at Sands Capital (Arlington, VA)

Analyst at KKR Growth (New York, NY)

Investor at Stripes (New York, NY)

Private Equity (Buyout) Roles

Associate at Ares (Los Angeles)

Analyst at StepStone (NYC)

CoS Roles

Chief of Staff at Aidoc (Remote)

Chief of Staff at Garner Health (Remote)

Chief of Staff at Tandem (NYC)

Business Operations Roles

Bizops Lead at Anon (SF)

Founding Marketing & Business Lead at Letta (SF)

Finance & BizOps Manager at Capitalize (NYC)

Strategy and Operations Manager at Elise AI (NYC)

Finance Roles

Strategic Finance Lead at Capchase (NYC)

Director, FP&A at Mixpanel (SF)

Head of Strategic & Corporate Finance at Bumble (NYC)

Interesting Podcasts from the past week

Podcasts:

• Sam Altman | The Future of AI

• Marc Andreessen | The Future of Venture Capital

• Godfather of AI: I Tried to Warn Them, But We’ve Already Lost Control! Geoffrey Hinton

Your Feedback is appreciated!

Thank you for being a reader! Let us know if there’s a topic or area that you’d like us to explore and/or investigate. To do so, simply respond to this email!

Also, feel free to follow us on X for real-time updates!