Scale AI: profile, pricing model and alternatives
Scale AI is an AI data company that supplies labeled data, RLHF data, model evaluations and data infrastructure to AI labs, enterprises and governments.
Scale AI at a glance
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Type | Expert data lab |
| Founded | 2016 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, US |
| Website | scale.com |
| Data types | RLHF and preference data, Supervised fine-tuning data, Evaluation sets, Multimodal training data |
| Pricing models | Per-task, Per-hour expert labor, Enterprise contract |
| Buyers | Frontier labs, enterprises, government agencies |
| Supply side | Not an open marketplace; it employs and contracts its own annotator and expert workforce. |
What Scale AI offers
- Data labeling and annotation
- RLHF and preference data
- Model evaluation
- Data engine tooling
- Public-sector AI programs
Reported facts about Scale AI
Meta agreed to invest about $14.3 billion for a 49% stake in Scale AI (reported as non-voting), and Scale's founder Alexandr Wang joined Meta.
Source: Reported by Reuters, Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal. As of June 2025.
See these and other transactions in the AI data deal tracker.
Strengths and limits of Scale AI
Strengths
- Long track record and broad modality coverage
- Evaluation and data-engine tooling beyond labeling
Limits
- Customer neutrality questions after the Meta investment, as reported at the time
- Pricing is quoted per engagement, not published
Compare Scale AI
- Scale AI alternatives
- Scale AI vs Surge AI (expert data lab)
- Scale AI vs Mercor (expert talent marketplace)
- Turing vs Scale AI (expert data lab)
Frequently asked questions
- What is Scale AI?
- Scale AI is an AI data company that supplies labeled data, RLHF data, model evaluations and data infrastructure to AI labs, enterprises and governments.
- How does Scale AI price its data?
- Scale AI uses these pricing models: Per-task, Per-hour expert labor, Enterprise contract. Exact prices are generally quoted per engagement and are not published.
- Who buys from Scale AI?
- Frontier labs, enterprises, government agencies.
- What are alternatives to Scale AI?
- Alternatives include Surge AI, Mercor, Turing. See the full list of Scale AI alternatives for a ranked comparison.
Editorial note. No company listed here pays for placement or has reviewed its entry. AI Data Auction is building its own auction marketplace and will label any commercial relationship with a listed company. Figures are as reported by the named source on the stated date; check the primary source before relying on them. See our methodology.