The Big Story 

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is investing a “significant” amount in Scale AI and hiring the artificial intelligence (AI) company’s CEO, Alexandr Wang. 

© Thibault Camus, Associated Press

The investment, reportedly worth about $14 billion, will bring the 28-year-old tech founder on board to help with Meta’s “superintelligence efforts.”

“Meta has finalized our strategic partnership and investment in Scale AI,” Meta said in a statement. “As part of this, we will deepen the work we do together producing data for AI models and Alexandr Wang will join Meta to work on our superintelligence efforts.”

Scale AI, founded by Wang in 2016, provides data services for AI companies. Meta’s massive investment values the firm at more than $29 billion.

Wang noted in a message to staff that he would “never leave Scale behind” and will remain a member of the board of directors, “continuing to support Scale’s mission and long-term vision.”

Jason Droege, Scale AI’s chief strategy officer, will take over as interim CEO, according to a company press release.

When this opportunity first presented itself, my immediate reaction was uncertainty,” Wang said in the message posted to Threads on Thursday.

“The idea of not being a Scalien was, frankly, unimaginable. But as I spent time truly considering it, I realized this was a deeply unique moment, not just for me, but for Scale as well.”

“As you’ve probably gathered from recent news, opportunities of this magnitude often come at a cost,” Wang added. “In this instance, that cost is my departure.”

The new partnership comes as Meta seeks to build out a superintelligence lab, focused on creating AI that is smarter than humans — a step further than the artificial general intelligence (AGI) sought by many tech and AI companies, according to The New York Times.

Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter, we’re Miranda Nazzaro and Julia Shapero — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.

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Crypto Corner 

SEC withdraws more than a dozen Biden-era rules

© Andrew Harnik, Associated Press

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) withdrew 14 Biden-era proposals Thursday, including two that faced pushback from the crypto industry.

The agency pulled a proposed rule from 2023 that sought to establish stricter requirements for investment advisors holding crypto assets for their clients.

It also withdrew a 2022 proposal that would have expanded the definition of exchange systems to encompass those trading crypto assets, including decentralized finance systems.

Former acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda previously indicated in March that he was considering scrapping both crypto-related rules, as he moved to quickly reshape the agency’s approach to the industry.

Under his leadership, the SEC dropped numerous lawsuits against major crypto firms, including Coinbase, Kraken and Ripple.

Since Paul Atkins was confirmed as chair, the agency has also dismissed its case against the crypto exchange Binance.

House Financial Services Chair French Hill (R-Ark.) on Friday touted the decision to withdraw the proposed rules put forward under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler.

“I commend the SEC’s decision to withdraw several misguided Gensler-era proposed rulemakings,” he said in a statement. “For too long, consumers and financial institutions have faced unnecessary burdens imposed by overreaching federal regulators.”

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