Scale AI review
Founded in 2016 and based in San Francisco, Scale AI sells model evaluation and labeled data to governments, large companies and AI labs.
| Based in | San Francisco, California |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2016 |
| How it works | Its own software paired with online workers who join through its job websites |
| Kinds of files | Photos, Video, Text, 3D laser scans (LiDAR), Satellite and map images, Rating AI chatbot answers |
| Audits and laws it names | SOC 2 Type II |
| How it prices | Per project |
| Team | Crowd sites in Southeast Asia and Africa; 1,200 employees in 2025 |
Scale AI in two facts
- Meta agreed to pay $14.8 billion for a non-voting 49% share of Scale AI.
- Scale says it became the first AI company to run Donovan, its own language model, on a classified network.
Who it suits
For driving data, satellite imagery and model feedback, it suits large programs with security reviews that carry weight.
Sources for these facts:
Scale AI alternatives
| Company | Based in | Kinds of files | Audits and laws it names | How it prices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scale AI | San Francisco, California | Photos, Video, Text, 3D laser scans (LiDAR), Satellite and map images, Rating AI chatbot answers | SOC 2 Type II | Per project |
| Innodata | Ridgefield Park, New Jersey | Photos, Video, Text, Sound, 3D laser scans (LiDAR), Medical scans, Satellite and map images, Rating AI chatbot answers | ISO 9001, ISO 27001 | Per project |
| Appen | Sydney, Australia and Kirkland, Washington | Photos, Video, Text, Sound, 3D laser scans (LiDAR), Medical scans, Rating AI chatbot answers | SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR | Per project |
| iMerit | San Jose, California | Photos, Video, Text, Sound, 3D laser scans (LiDAR), Medical scans, Rating AI chatbot answers | SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, ISO 9001, HIPAA, GDPR, TISAX | Per project |
| Shaip | New York, New York | Photos, Video, Text, Sound, 3D laser scans (LiDAR), Medical scans, Rating AI chatbot answers | ISO 27001, ISO 9001, SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA | Per project |
Questions for Scale AI before signing
- Where do your teams work, and which of them would label our data?
- How is accuracy measured, and what portion of labels gets a second-person check?
- Could we begin with a pilot, and would it cost nothing?
- Will you show us your SOC 2 Type II report before any of our files reach you?
- What is your pricing for this kind of work: per project, per hour or per label?
Send one brief, hear from three vendors
Describe your data once and we pass it to three annotation vendors that label that kind of data, so you can compare quotes side by side.
- One short form instead of three sales calls
- Matched on data type, volume and security needs
- You choose who to talk to