AI is leveling the playing field for startups, says Scale AI founder

Alexandr Wang, founder of Scale AI and now head of Meta's super intelligence lab, says AI is closing the gap between startups and big companies. He believes this is a rare chance in history for entrepreneurs to build great products and challenge industry giants.

Speaking at a Y Combinator event, Wang recalled that when he started Scale AI in 2016, startups were at a huge disadvantage, like David vs. Goliath. But with AI agents and other tech improving, the situation is now more like Goliath vs. Goliath. He emphasized that startups can beat big companies by using AI agents in the most ambitious ways.

Scale AI was one of the first companies in data labeling, helping big AI labs filter data and train models. Last June, Meta made a $14.3 billion deal with Scale AI, and Wang later joined Meta to lead its super intelligence lab.