Meta, Scale, and the Future of AI Labeling: Did Zuck Just Kill a Category? | E2139

Today’s show: Meta just took a 49% stake in Scale AI, and the shockwaves are hitting the entire AI ecosystem. In this episode, @Jason and @alex unpack the deal’s implications: Google ($150M customer!) and others are fleeing Scale, worried Meta will hoard its RLHF infrastructure and cut off competitors. Startups like Labelbox, Turing, and Handshake are already seeing a demand surge. Is this smart vertical integration or anti-competitive overreach? Jason shares tactical advice for founders on how to capitalize when incumbents stumble—hire ex-Scale talent, build “Scale AI alternative” SEO pages, and hit the podcast circuit. Don’t miss this deep dive into AI’s shifting power dynamics. Timestamps: (04:01) Is Jason becoming an AI doomer?! (9:52) OpenPhone - Streamline and scale your customer communications with OpenPhone. Get 20% off your first 6 months at www.openphone.com/⁠twist (13:47) PostHog, and when is it okay for founders to break the rules? (20:56) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist (25:50) Why the Navy is recruiting startups (30:12) Pilot - Visit https://www.pilot.com/twist and get $1,200 off your first year. (39:09) Did Zuck buy Scale in order to keep it from competitors? (56:08) When does incentivizing customers turn into burning capital? (1:04) How raising too much money could KILL your startup! Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com Check out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.com Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp Follow Lon: X: https://x.com/lons Follow Alex: X: https://x.com/alex LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm Follow Jason: X: https://twitter.com/Jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis Thank you to our partners: (9:52) OpenPhone - Streamline and scale your customer communications with OpenPhone. Get 20% off your first 6 months at www.openphone.com/⁠twist (20:56) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist (30:52) Pilot - Visit https://www.pilot.com/twist and get $1,200 off your first year. Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe , Steve Huffman , Brian Chesky , Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie , Sophia Amoruso , Reid Hoffman , Frank Slootman , Billy McFarland Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis Follow TWiST: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@founderuniversity1916