Scale AI

Scale AI provides a platform called Data Engine that collects, curates, and annotates data to train and evaluate AI/ML models, either by automatically leveraging AI or through human annotators. The company also offers solutions to augment real data or generate fully synthetic data based on rare or dangerous real-world scenarios. Scale AI offers the ability to deploy annotated data via APIs or direct download. It also offers features to fix model failures and data quality issues by computing performance metrics on ingested model predictions.

Scale AI also provides a full-stack platform to customize, build, test, and deploy enterprise-ready GenAI applications, including foundational models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. The platform also offers features to fine-tune models with enterprise data and its Data Engine.

In addition, the company offers an AI safety lab called SEAL (Safety, Evaluations, and Analysis Lab). SEAL focuses on developing automated rating systems based on LLMs, conducts research on potential AI harms, and utilizes red team methods to ensure the safety and reliability of AI software. Additionally, the lab helps enterprises and governments comply with AI standards and regulations.

The company offers its data annotation services either as a fully-managed or a self-managed service, with pricing based on the type and volume of data (usage-based model).

Key customers and partnerships

The company’s notable customers include the US Department of Defense, US Air Force, Microsoft, Meta, Toyota, PayPal, Etsy, General Motors, and Pinterest.

In August 2023, Scale AI formed a partnership with OpenAI to provide fine-tuning tools for the latter’s GPT-3.5 large language model, allowing its customers to develop tailored ML models for their unique business requirements. Moreover, the fine-tuned models will be reviewed by Scale’s human experts to ensure that it meets performance expectations and other safety and regulatory requirements.

Funding and financials

In May 2024, the company raised USD 1 billion in a Series F funding round at a valuation of USD 13.8 billion. The fundraising was a mix of primary and secondary funding, led by Accel and featuring participation from prominent investors such as Amazon, Meta, Cisco, Intel, AMD, NVIDIA, Y Combinator, and Tiger Global Management, among others. It had planned to use the fresh capital to progress on its journey of becoming the primary data foundry for AI and to foster the production of frontier data.