It’s only been a few months since Meta poured $14.3 billion into Scale AI, appointing CEO Alexandr Wang and several senior leaders from the startup to oversee Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL). Yet signs of strain are already emerging in the partnership.
One notable change came quickly: Ruben Mayer, formerly Scale AI’s Senior VP of GenAI Product and Operations, left Meta just two months after joining, according to sources close to the matter. Mayer, who had spent five years with Scale AI, was tasked with managing data operations at Meta but was reportedly not directly involved with TBD Labs — Meta’s core AI research group.
Mayer, however, disputed these accounts, telling TechCrunch that his role from the beginning was to help set up the lab in any way necessary, not only data. He also insisted he was part of TBD Labs from day one and left for personal reasons, not dissatisfaction with Meta.
Beyond staff changes, Meta is also diversifying its data-labeling sources. Despite its massive investment in Scale AI, TBD Labs is increasingly turning to other vendors like Surge and Mercor, two of Scale’s main competitors. Researchers reportedly prefer their higher-quality datasets, even though Meta has a deep financial tie with Scale.
