Alexandr Wang is the youngest billionaire in the world, according to Forbes magazine. He is the head of the startup Scale AI, specializing in artificial intelligence. Its valuation has taken off dramatically in recent months, propelling its founder to the top and giving him the title of billionaire.
At just 19 years old, Alexandr Wang embarked on his entrepreneurial adventure without realizing the success that the business world had in store for him. While he was a student at MIT, he abandoned his studies to focus on his entrepreneurial career and his project: Scale AI. Today, at the age of 25, he helps large companies, such as the Air Force, General Motors, PayPal and Toyota, to exploit the potential of their data.
Scale AI accelerates the integration of AI across industries, making it easier for organizations large and small to grow. On its website, the company explains: “ We want to rethink business models, improve decision-making and increase workforce performance, exploit new avenues to give momentum to your business, the economy and the planet, in order to realize our full potential. Together, we form a collaborative network whose mission is to strengthen Canada’s position internationally. »
Portrait of Alexandr Wang, the young billionaire founder of Scale AI
Alexandr Wang grew up not far from the American laboratory at Los Alamos, New Mexico. His parents were physicists and worked on U.S. Army projects. The young entrepreneur has not strayed far from his parents’ business. Thanks to his startup Scale AI, founded at the age of 19, he signed three contracts worth $350 million to help the Air Force and the Army of United States Land. The objective? Help them use artificial intelligence.
Alexandr Wang is gifted. From a young age, he participated in math and coding competitions. In 6th grade, he won free entry to Disney World, thanks to his arithmetic skills. He then quickly understood that the figures presented real opportunities for him. At 17, he worked full-time coding for the question-and-answer site Quora. It was at this time that he met the person who would turn his professional life upside down, Lucy Guo, who would be the co-founder of Scale AI.
After only one year at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Alexandr Wang made the decision to end his studies to devote himself fully to his project. “I told my parents it would just be something I would do for the summer. Obviously, I never went back to school,” remembers Alexandr Wang.
With funding from Y Combinator, an international company specializing in early-stage startup funding – known for helping promising American startups – the two entrepreneurs took Scale AI to the next level. Indeed, the company has real potential and is one of the most important in all of Silicon Valley, in the world of artificial intelligence. On the international scene, his reputation no longer needs to be presented. Alexandr Wang has more than 300 clients.
Scale AI, a startup valued at $7.3 billion
Scale AI analyzes satellite images, much faster than human analysts, to define, for example, the extent of damage caused by Russian bombs in Ukraine. This technology can be useful not only in the military field, but also in the business world. More than 300 companies, such as Toyota, General Motors, Airbnb, Samsung, Pinterest and Flexport, have used Scale AI to help them extract their data from raw information, like millions shipping documents or raw images of self-driving cars. “Every industry is sitting on huge amounts of data. Our goal is to help them unlock the potential of data and supercharge their businesses with AI,” explains Alexandr Wang to Forbes.
The startup is currently valued at $7.3 billion thanks to fundraising estimated at $325 million last year. Scale AI also generates a turnover estimated at $100 million. Alexandr’s share is estimated at 15%, i.e. 1 billion dollarswhich makes him the youngest billionaire in the world. Some call it the future Elon Musk.
