Meta is planning a $15 billion deal to grow its AI efforts. The company may buy a 49% stake in Scale AI, a startup run by Alexandr Wang and Lucy Guo.
Mark Zuckerberg is leading the push. Experts say this shows he’s acting like a “wartime CEO,” making fast, bold moves to stay ahead in the AI race.
Superintelligence is a type of AI. It can outperform humans in every task. While current systems aren’t yet there, Meta’s new direction suggests it’s aiming beyond regular AI. However, the goal is to reach and even surpass artificial general intelligence (AGI).
Why This Matters Now
Meta’s push comes after rivals like OpenAI and Google made big progress in AI. Meanwhile, Meta’s Metaverse project fell short of expectations and was widely criticized. This new step is seen as a way for Meta to reclaim leadership in tech innovation.
Scale AI recently partnered with the U.S. Department of Defense. Their system, ThunderForge, is already being used to support military planning in key regions. The startup also has backing from big names like Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund.
Experts believe the Meta superintelligence investment highlights the growing demand for AI talent. Companies are hiring rapidly, even pulling researchers from top universities. Some researchers worry that AI progress is happening behind closed doors. They argue that public research efforts, similar to those at CERN for physics, are needed to build AI that we can trust.
Transparency and collaboration could help ensure safe and fair development. Although the promise of AGI is exciting, experts say we’re still far from achieving that goal. Today’s AI tools can be powerful, but they often fail basic logic tasks that any high school student could solve.
Meta hasn’t commented on the deal yet. Scale AI also hasn’t released a statement on the Meta superintelligence investment. But if the reports are true, this move could reset the pace of AI progress and put Meta back in the lead.