Lotus Partners with Data Annotation Unicorn Scale AI to Build the Cornerstone of Artificial Intelligence

In today’s era of rapid AI advancement, data has become the invisible fuel driving this revolution. We are glad to announce our strategic investment in Scale AI, a global leader in AI data infrastructure. This decision stems not only from a profound understanding of the foundational value of the data industry but also from Scale AI’s irreplaceable role in constructing the "data bedrock" of an intelligent world.

Behind the frenzy of large language models ignited by ChatGPT, Scale AI has spent eight years building an invisible engine to power AI evolution: a high-quality data annotation network and a full lifecycle data management platform. Through technological innovation and business model breakthroughs in data annotation, Scale AI has emerged as a core force driving the development of the artificial intelligence industry.

From Data Labeling to Full-Stack AI Services: The Growth Path of Scale AI

Founded by 19-year-old MIT dropout Alexandr Wang, the company initially built a manual labeling network with 240,000 data labelers in Kenya, the Philippines, and other locations, providing 99.3% accuracy in LiDAR data labeling services for autonomous driving giants like Tesla and General Motors' Cruise. With the rise of generative AI driven by GPT-3, Scale AI quickly transformed into a smart data factory: its self-developed active learning algorithms increased the automation rate of labeling to 65%, achieving a throughput three times the industry average.

The Nucleus quality control system it launched allows for real-time debugging of mislabels, improving the training efficiency of large models for clients such as Microsoft and Meta by 40%. As generative AI exploded, the company further expanded its business to synthetic data generation, model optimization, and enterprise-level AI platform development, forming a service system that covers the entire "data-model-application" chain.

Automated Labeling Captures the High-End Market

Scale AI combines human expertise with advanced AI algorithms to automate labeling and data processing tasks, ensuring quality and efficiency. Currently, the training methods for large models mainly rely on Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF), which is based on fine-tuning and human feedback after the pre-training phase. However, Scale AI's business is not limited to the early labor-intensive data labeling; instead, it creates a highly automated data labeling pipeline by innovatively combining machine learning technology with the wisdom of human experts from various fields. This not only significantly enhances the speed and accuracy of data processing but also makes data labeling more intelligent and efficient. Through multi-layered quality control and human feedback mechanisms, Scale AI ensures high-quality data labeling, safeguarding accuracy and reliability, thereby capturing a substantial market share in more advanced fields.

Comprehensive Service Capabilities

Scale AI establishes customer loyalty through its data labeling services and provides comprehensive support covering the entire lifecycle of AI development, including data management, analysis, and model building. It offers customized full-cycle services tailored to the specific needs of different clients and conducts multi-faceted evaluations of the accuracy of various large models, assisting clients in local deployment. This enables companies without their own AI research teams to deploy their customized large models, providing an integrated solution from data labeling to model deployment, which has increased customer retention rates to 200%.

Scale AI is sensitive to industry trends and can quickly seize major trends and opportunities, rapidly launching corresponding products at the forefront of the market and achieving a high market share in niche areas. Its main clients currently include leaders in autonomous driving, fintech companies, government entities (such as the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Air Force), retail and e-commerce, and AR/VR, showcasing significant head effects. In the field of large AI models, Scale AI has deep collaborations with companies like OpenAI and Meta.

Scale AI's financial performance is equally impressive. Revenue and market capitalization have rapidly grown over the past three years, with the company's gross margin nearing 50%, and it is expected to reach breakeven soon. Additionally, Scale AI boasts a prestigious lineup of investors, including Accel, Index Ventures, and NVIDIA.

In May 2024, Scale AI completed a $1 billion Series F funding round, doubling its valuation to $13.8 billion, with its annual revenue surpassing $300 million, providing data services to leading global technology companies. Founder Alexandr Wang, at the age of 28, has made it onto Forbes' global billionaire list, becoming a benchmark for young entrepreneurs in the AI field.

The rise of Scale AI confirms a truth: in the AI revolution, data is the new oil, and efficient data services are the refineries. As an investor in Scale AI, we firmly believe that its leadership in data labeling and full-stack AI services will continue to drive breakthroughs and implementation of artificial intelligence technology globally. In the future, Scale AI is expected to become a core builder of AI infrastructure, injecting momentum into the intelligent transformation of various industries.