Scale AI co-founder Alexandr Wang is such an enthusiastic networker that his former roommate — OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman — once jokingly told him to tone it down a bit.

Data-labeling firm Scale AI confirmed on Friday that it has received a "significant" investment from Meta that values the startup at $29 billion.

When Alexander Wang founded Scale AI in 2016, the AI landscape was still in its early stages. The data labelling startup, driven by Wang’s vision, quickly became a key player in the AI landscape, growing to over 1,500 employees and securing crucial partnerships across industries and governments.