How to Invest in Scale AI Stock in 2026

Speculation about a Scale.ai IPO has dampened in recent months following its mega-deal with tech titan Meta Platforms (META).

Mark Zuckerberg’s social media behemoth paid nearly $15 billion back in the summer for a 49% stake in the AI data-labelling startup. As part of the deal Scale.ai’s founder Alexandr Wang is now taking up a new role heading up Meta’s AI unit. Although he remains on the Scale.ai board.

Meta’s huge stake could make an IPO less likely given some investors will expect Scale.ai to at some point be fully consumed by Meta. There have also been concerns over the lowering of Scale.ai valuation expectations following the Meta deal. That’s down to the loss of Wang as well as some major clients like Alphabet-owned Google (GOOGL) cutting ties with Scale.ai following the Meta tie-up.

Even if the company does not go public, it is still possible for investors to buy Scale.ai stock in 2026.

What is Scale AI?

• Founded – 2016 by Alexandr Wang and Lucy Guo
• Core Product – Delivers high-quality training data for AI applications such as self-driving cars, robotics and mapping. This includes data annotation and labelling. Its clients include AI companies training large language models, governments and corporates.
• Customers – According to the Sense website the company has nearly 1,000 customers.
• Revenues – Research platform Sacra estimates that Scale.ai achieved $1.5 billion in annual recurring revenue (ARR) at the end of 2024, up around 97% year-over-year from $760 million in 2023. It said that the 2023 revenue explosion was driven by $18 billion in capital flowing into foundational model companies like Open AI, Anthropic and Cohere that used Scale.ai to train their large language models (LLMs) using reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF). It also benefits from stable government contracts. However, the Meta deal, it added, has triggered customer flight from its largest clients. OpenAI and Google—who together represented a significant portion of Scale’s revenue—have cut ties following the deal, with Microsoft (MSFT) reportedly exploring alternatives. Google alone was planning to spend $200 million on Scale’s services in 2025 before pulling back.
• Why Scale.ai stock could matter to investors – Although there are concerns over the direction of the business following the Meta deal, it is indicative of the demand for Scale.ai’s services in the AI revolution. Simply, Scale.ai provides vital services to help organizations from all sectors develop new AI models and products for the benefits of society, business, workers and consumers. It is a vital cog in the AI supply chain.

Scale.ai Valuation

Year	Event	Implied Valuation
August, 2019	Series C Funding	$1 billion
December, 2020	Series D Funding	$3.5 billion
April, 2021	Series E Funding	$7.3 billion
May, 2024	Series F Funding	$13.8 billion
June, 2025	Meta Deal	$29 billion

It has been reported that following the Meta deal, Scale.ai’s valuation has slipped, even to as low as around $7.3 billion. Noel Moldvai, Augment’s CEO, recently told Business Insider that his platform used to process millions of dollars’ worth of transactions in Scale AI stock before the Meta deal, but that dried up as sellers waited to see if the startup rebounded. Activity is picking up again, he said, but at lower valuations of around $15 billion to $9 billion.

Can You Buy Scale.ai Stock Today?

There has been plenty of speculation about a potential Scale.ai IPO given its strong valuation rounds, revenue growth and role in the AI revolution. There have been reports that a listing could take place between 2026 and 2028. However, no official plans have been made.

Pre-IPO (Accredited Investors Only)

• The stock is not publicly tradeable.
• Possible access through secondary marketplaces such as ForgeGlobal (FRGE) and EquityZen. However, given that it is mainly a small group of institutional investors who hold Scale.ai shares and no employee liquidity programs availability is limited. Investors may have to join a waiting list.
• Before you do so consider these issues – Illiquidity – Unlike publicly traded stock where you can sell your shares quickly, it may take you longer to do so when the company is still private. There are no guarantees that you can cash-out easily. Pricing Opacity – There is no easily observable market price created by a number of buyers or sellers so valuation can be trickier. Lock-up Periods- Often when a company lists there is a lock-up period post-IPO when shares can’t be sold. Transparency – how a company is performing can be less clear than a public peer given they are not subject to strict reporting rules.

Retail Investors

• Must wait for IPO allocation via broker or
• Post-IPO Public Trading on the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq.
• Access the AI infrastructure theme through other stocks such as Palantir (PLTR) or ETFs such as Ark Innovation (ARKK).

Key Risks for Investors

• Weak Tech IPO Market – Some of the recently listed tech IPOs such as CoreWeave (CRWV) have struggled.
• Post-Meta Blues- Uncertainty over the future direction of the business.
• Pre-IPO Liquidity Risk.

Conclusion

• Scale.ai IPO remains possible but perhaps less so than 12 months ago.
• Scale.ai stock is not accessible to retail investors.
• There are concerns over the company’s valuation.