Alexandr Wang
InvestorUnicorn founderCo-founder & CEO at Scale AI
San Francisco, CA
FoundedScale AI$29B · YC
Find your path to Alexandr
158 people in our graph share verified history with Alexandr — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.
Cat WuunlockedAlexandr: together at Scale AI (2018–2020)
×7Alexandr: together at Scale AI
×2Alexandr: together at Quora
×2Alexandr: together at Addepar
About
Alexandr Wang co-founded Scale AI at 19 after dropping out of MIT, built it into the data backbone of the AI industry, and in June 2025 Meta paid roughly $14.3 billion for a 49% stake — valuing Scale at ~$29 billion — and hired him as its first Chief AI Officer to run Meta Superintelligence Labs. Born in Los Alamos to two physicist parents at the national lab, he was a USACO finalist and US Physics Team member in high school, coded full-time at Addepar and Quora at 17, and entered Y Combinator's Summer 2016 batch, where Scale was born in a pool house with co-founder Lucy Guo. At 24 he was the world's youngest self-made billionaire; he still sits on Scale's board.
Beyond investing
- Founded
- Wang co-founded Scale AI with Lucy Guo in 2016, a company providing data labeling and model evaluation services for AI applications. Co-founded Scale AI in 2016 with Lucy Guo to solve AI's data-labeling bottleneck; Meta's 2025 investment valued it at ~$29B.
- Education
- Studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Studied at Los Alamos High School Dropped out of MIT after his freshman year (2016) to do Y Combinator with Scale.
- Communities
- During the COVID-19 pandemic Wang was roommates with his friend Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI. Testified before the House Armed Services Committee in July 2023 on AI and national security; Scale is a major DoD AI vendor.
- Awards
- Wang was named to the Time 100 Next list recognizing emerging leaders shaping the future of their fields. Wang became the world's youngest self-made billionaire at age 24 in 2021. Forbes 30 Under 30 (2018, 2021); TIME 100 Next and TIME100 AI honoree.
- Family
- Wang was born to Chinese immigrant parents who worked as physicists at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Born in 1997 in Los Alamos, New Mexico, to Chinese-immigrant parents who were both physicists at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
- More
- Wang qualified for the Math Olympiad Program in 2013, the US Physics Team in 2014, and was a USACO finalist in 2012 and 2013. Wang testified before a House Armed Services subcommittee in July 2023 on U.S. government AI adoption. Competition prodigy: twice a USACO finalist and a national Math Olympiad Program qualifier before college.
Mentioned above: the Y Combinator mafia → · the Massachusetts Institute of Technology mafia →
From published sources — common ground for a warm intro.
Co-founder & CEO at Scale AIYC S16
Intro paths
YC
Alexandr went through Y Combinator (Summer 2016) — any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.
GP
Their group partner at YC was Jared Friedman, YC Group Partner — the partner who ran Scale AI's batch and knows the company first-hand. YC profile ↗
→
In turn, Alexandr can intro founders to Scale AI's investors below.
Scale AI's investors · 41
AccelPalo Alto · $1.6M – $70M checks · since 2024Adit Ventures Management, LlcNew YorkBeyond CapitalSan DiegoCheyenne VenturesWoodsideCiscoPalo Alto · since 2024Coatue ManagementNew York · $1M – $20M checks · since 2024Elad GilSan Francisco · $100K – $10M checksFelicis VenturesSan Francisco · $500K – $15M checksFounders FundSan Francisco · $500K – $5M checks · since 2024General CatalystSan Francisco · $30M checks · since 2025Geodesic CapitalFoster CityGreenoaksSan Francisco · $1M – $50M checks · since 2024GV (Google Ventures)Mountain View · $250K – $50M checks · since 2025Harmony PartnersNew YorkHuman CapitalSan Francisco · $250K – $200M checksID8 InvestmentsNew YorkIndex VenturesSan Francisco · $540K – $10.8M checks · since 2024Inertia VenturesNew York · $2M checksIntegra GroupeMenlo Park · $100K – $200K checksJuniperoMiamiLight Street CapitalPalo AltoMerantix CapitalBerlin · $540K – $4.3M checksMetasince 2026Next Play VenturesMenlo Park · $100K – $5M checksNVIDIASanta Clara · since 2024Outcast VenturesSan Francisco · $500K checksOutlander VCNew York · $500K – $2.5M checksPartners ResoluteChicagoQualcomm VenturesSan Diego · $5M checksRiverbend CapitalWashingtonRosecliff VenturesNew York City · $500K checksS32Palo AltoSection 32Palo AltoSocium VenturesAtlanta · $3M – $25M checksSpark CapitalSan Francisco · $500K – $25M checks · since 2024Thrive CapitalNew York · $500K – $25M checks · since 2024Tiger Global ManagementNew York · $1M – $100M checks · since 2024U.S. Air Forcesince 2021US Innovative TechnologyCoraopolis · since 2025Wellington ManagementBoston · $5M – $50M checks · since 2024Y CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K checks · since 2016
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Co-founders at Scale AI
LG
Lucy GuoCo-founder
Experience
- Scale AICEO and foundercurrent2016 — presentSan Francisco, CA
- Hudson River TradingAlgorithm Developer2016New York City Metropolitan Area
- QuoraTech Lead2014 — 2016Mountain View, CA
- AddeparSoftware Engineer2014Mountain View, CA
Skills & more
Software Engineering7PythonC++5Distributed SystemsAlgorithms5Git2Java3InfrastructureParallel ProgrammingComputer Science1Mathematics4JavaScript2
+12 more
ProgrammingPhysicsMySQLAlgorithm DesignCoffeeScriptSQLLinuxHTMLLaTeXCCSSPHPLanguages Chinese · French
From Alexandr's professional profile.
Investments
Board seats
Expedia GroupScale AI
Per curated public sources.
Podcasts & interviews
featuring Alexandr WangAlexandr Wang: Building Scale AI, Transforming Work with Agents & Competing With China
Lightcone
Scale AI's Alexandr Wang on Securing U.S. AI Leadership
CSIS AI Policy Podcast · csis.org
Unlocking AI's Future: Alexandr Wang on the Power of Frontier Data
a16z Podcast · a16z.com
An Interview with Scale AI CEO Alex Wang About the Data Pillar for AI
Stratechery · stratechery.com
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Alexandr Wang?
- Alexandr Wang co-founded Scale AI at 19 after dropping out of MIT, built it into the data backbone of the AI industry, and in June 2025 Meta paid roughly $14.3 billion for a 49% stake — valuing Scale at ~$29 billion — and hired him as its first Chief AI Officer to run Meta Superintelligence Labs. Born in Los Alamos to two physicist parents at the national lab, he was a USACO finalist and US Physics Team member in high school, coded full-time at Addepar and Quora at 17, and entered Y Combinator's Summer 2016 batch, where Scale was born in a pool house with co-founder Lucy Guo. At 24 he was the world's youngest self-made billionaire; he still sits on Scale's board.
- Where does Alexandr Wang work?
- Alexandr Wang is Co-founder & CEO of Scale AI.
- What companies did Alexandr Wang found?
- Alexandr Wang founded Scale AI.
- What boards does Alexandr Wang sit on?
- Alexandr Wang holds tracked board seats at Expedia Group, Scale AI.
- Where did Alexandr Wang go to school?
- Alexandr Wang studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Bachelor of Science (BS), Mathematics and Computer Science); Los Alamos High School (High School).
- What awards has Alexandr Wang received?
- Wang was named to the Time 100 Next list recognizing emerging leaders shaping the future of their fields. Wang became the world's youngest self-made billionaire at age 24 in 2021. Forbes 30 Under 30 (2018, 2021); TIME 100 Next and TIME100 AI honoree.
- What podcasts and interviews feature Alexandr Wang?
- Tracked appearances include "Alexandr Wang: Building Scale AI, Transforming Work with Agents & Competing With China", "Scale AI's Alexandr Wang on Securing U.S. AI Leadership", "Unlocking AI's Future: Alexandr Wang on the Power of Frontier Data", and 1 more.
Founder mafias
Y Combinator mafia10,230
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Sam AltmanPresidentFounded Tools for Humanity +3Garry TanPresident & CEOFounded Y Combinator +1Jessica LivingstonCo-founderFounded Y CombinatorAlexis OhanianPartnerFounded RedditFred EhrsamYC Summer 2012Founded Nudge +1Matt HuangYC Winter 2011Founded Paradigm +1
+ 10,223 more
Massachusetts Institute of Technology mafia1,220
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Elad GilPhDFounded Brain Co. +1Hemant TanejaM.Eng.Founded Hippocratic AINat FriedmanBachelor of ScienceFounded XamarinBrad FeldS.B.Founded TechstarsMatt HuangB.S.Founded Paradigm +1Delian AsparouhovDropoutFounded Nightingale +1
+ 1,213 more
Addepar mafia26
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Joe LonsdaleFounder and ChairmanFounded Opto +5Scott WuSoftware EngineerFounded Cognition AIAshby MonkHead of ResearchFounded Shelton AI +1Kanishk ParasharSenior Director of Product ManagementFounded Powder +1Cliff CroslandSoftware EngineerFounded CoinZoom +1Bobby YazdaniAdvisor to Founders & CEOFounded Addepar
+ 19 more
Addepar mafia17
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Joe LonsdaleFounder and Chairman of the BoardFounded Opto +4Scott WuSoftware EngineerFounded Cognition AIKanishk ParasharSenior Director of Product ManagementFounded Powder +1Cliff CroslandSoftware EngineerFounded CoinZoom +1Josh AlbrechtPublic Data LeadFounded SourceressJD RossVP ProductFounded WithCoverage
+ 10 more
Same school
Also attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology2,000
Fred WilsonCo-founder & Partner at Union Square VenturesElad GilSolo general partner investing through Gil CapitalAileen LeeFounder & Managing Partner of Cowboy VenturesHemant TanejaCEO & Managing Director of General CatalystPhilippe LaffontFounder & CIO of Coatue ManagementNat FriedmanCo-lead of Meta Superintelligence Labs; co-founder of NFDG
+ 1,994 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Scale AI95
Lucy GuoCo-founder of Scale AI; founder & CEO of PassesWilliam HockeyCo-founder of Plaid; founder & CEO of ColumnBrad PorterFounder & CEO of Collaborative RoboticsCat WuInvestor at Index VenturesMike VolpiInvestor at Index VenturesAvi BharadwajInvestment Director at Intel Capital
+ 89 more
Also worked at Hudson River Trading10
Tim WangFounder, Managing Partner at Monolith Venture Advisory LimitedBen DavenportVenture Partner at Blockchain CapitalVahid Fazel-RezaiFounder at OverfitJack FischerFounder at Credal.aiKay LiFounder at SilogyAndrew TranFounder at Alkera AI
+ 4 more
Also worked at Quora30
Lucy GuoCo-founder of Scale AI; founder & CEO of PassesHelen MinEarly-stage investor and marketing advisor to startupsSarah SmithFounder & Managing Partner at Sarah SmithTiantian FangInvestor at Nava VenturesJessica ShamboraPartner at MKT1 CapitalGautam ShewakramaniPartner at On Deck
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+ 24 more
Also worked at Addepar33
Joe LonsdaleFounder & Managing Partner of 8VC; co-founder of Palantir and AddeparScott WuCo-founder & CEO of CognitionKaren WhiteInvestment Team at 8VCBobby YazdaniFounder & Managing Partner at Cota CapitalKevin ZhangTime to figure out what's real.Andy LiuPartner at OCV Partners
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+ 27 more