Meta’s $14.3B Bet on Scale AI Sparks Layoffs, Culture Shifts, and Industry Tension

In a move that has reverberated throughout the U.S. tech sector, Scale AI—once considered a backbone of generative AI infrastructure—has laid off 200 full-time employees and 500 contractors following a $14.3 billion investment from Meta. While Scale AI’s interim CEO, Jason Droege, attributes the restructuring to “shifts in market demand,” the underlying story reveals a more complex picture—one that speaks volumes about the evolving intersection of artificial intelligence, big tech, and how Americans will make money online with AI in the years ahead.