Alexandr Wang made his first million as the founder and CEO of Scale AI, a company he co-founded in 2016 when he was just 19 years old. Scale AI provides data-labeling services for artificial intelligence applications, helping companies build and improve their machine learning models by supplying high-quality, labeled data.
Here is his story:
Early Interest in Math and Computer Science
Wang, born and raised in New Mexico, was interested in mathematics and computer science from an early age. He excelled in math and coding competitions in high school. He joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he studied for just one year before deciding to leave to start his own company.
Founding Scale AI
Wang realized the potential of the AI industry and found that the machine learning algorithms require enormous amounts of accurately labeled data to be effective, but many companies lacked the resources to label data efficiently at scale.
Along with co-founder Lucy Guo, Wang saw an opportunity to create a company that would handle the data-labeling process for companies needing to scale their AI efforts.
In 2016, they founded Scale AI in San Francisco.
Alexandr first started Scale AI for autonomous vehicles and self driving as they were the obvious use cases because of the enormous amount of data required. Alexandr also spotted a huge bottleneck in healthcare to analyze the health data and realized how AI can help with the complex data. Another field where Alexandr wants to use AI is to solve some of the world’s most pressing geopolitical problems.
Growth and Making the First Million
Scale AI gained traction quickly by landing contracts with major companies, especially in the autonomous vehicle industry. With clients like Lyft, Toyota, and General Motors, Scale AI grew fast, generating revenue from high-value contracts and investments from Silicon Valley venture capital firms.
As Scale AI expanded its client base, its revenue skyrocketed. Wang likely made his first million when Scale AI secured significant funding from investors who saw the enormous potential of the company. By 2019, Scale AI was valued at over $1 billion, making Wang one of the youngest self-made millionaires and marking his entry into the tech elite.
Scale AI’s Continued Growth and Wang’s Rising Wealth
Scale AI continued to grow, securing additional funding rounds and reaching a valuation of $7.3 billion by 2021. The company now plays a crucial role in AI development across various industries, including defense, e-commerce, and logistics. Wang’s wealth continued to rise with Scale AI’s success, and he became one of the youngest billionaires in the world.
If you liked this story, you will like our other story of First Million here ➱
