Meta artificial intelligence acquisition boosts voice innovation with Play AI and data scaling via Scale AI to power next-gen superintelligence efforts

Meta artificial intelligence acquisition has reached a significant milestone following the company’s official takeover of Play AI, a fast-rising startup that specialises in creating human-like, AI-generated voices.

Also read: Meta’s voice cloning acquisition boosts AI future

The acquisition marks another strategic move in Meta’s growing ambition to dominate artificial intelligence development globally.

Play AI, known for its platform that simplifies voice creation, will have its entire team absorbed into Meta, bolstering the parent company of Facebook and Instagram with talent in the audio AI space.

A memo confirming the acquisition described Play AI’s work as “a great match for our work and road map, across AI Characters, Meta AI, Wearables and audio content creation.”

This development was confirmed by a Meta spokesperson and reported by Bloomberg on Tuesday, marking a pivotal shift in Meta’s AI strategy toward immersive, voice-driven experiences.

Alongside the Play AI integration, Meta recently completed a major investment in Scale AI, acquiring a 49% stake valued at $14.3 billion.

Scale AI is a leading data infrastructure firm in the AI training ecosystem, servicing giants such as Google, OpenAI, Microsoft, and the US Department of Defense.

With the acquisition, Scale AI’s CEO Alexandr Wang has been appointed as Meta’s first-ever Chief AI Officer and head of the newly established Meta Superintelligence Labs.

This division is now tasked with centralising all AI innovation efforts within Meta, and Wang’s leadership is expected to fast-track Meta’s ambition to become a global AI powerhouse.

Wang’s track record at Scale AI is widely regarded as transformative. Since co-founding the company in 2016, he scaled it into a $13.8 billion-valued enterprise by 2024, pioneering high-quality data labelling systems for AI models used in complex sectors like defence and advanced computing.

Meta’s aggressive AI hiring continues to attract attention. According to Bloomberg, the tech giant has successfully recruited Jack Rae, a principal researcher from Google DeepMind.

Play AI’s work in creating natural voices is a great match for our work and road map, across AI Characters, Meta AI, Wearables and audio content creation.

Meta has also attempted to poach key talent from OpenAI, with CEO Sam Altman recently revealing that Meta offered up to $100 million in signing bonuses to lure staff away.

Altman acknowledged these attempts during a podcast appearance but questioned Meta’s ability to foster meaningful innovation due to perceived cultural mismatches.

“Our people are motivated by mission and meaning, not just money,” he said, confirming none of OpenAI’s top researchers had accepted Meta’s lucrative offers.

Until recently, Meta focused primarily on in-house AI development, building projects like the Llama language model through open-source methods.

That approach contrasted with competitors like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, which acquired stakes in external AI labs such as Anthropic and OpenAI.

Now, Meta appears to be pivoting from self-reliance to bold external investments.

In January 2025, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that AI would become Meta’s highest priority, setting aside up to $65 billion for infrastructure and innovation throughout the year.

This includes the Play AI acquisition and the Scale AI partnership.

To fund this expansion, Meta is in advanced talks to raise $29 billion, made up of $3 billion in equity and $26 billion in debt, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.

Private equity giants such as Apollo, Brookfield, Carlyle, KKR, and Pimco are involved in ongoing discussions.

The funds are earmarked for building state-of-the-art data centres in the United States to support Meta’s rapidly scaling AI operations.

Also read: Meta AI introduces celebrity voices for enhanced interaction

As Meta’s artificial intelligence acquisition strategy becomes increasingly aggressive, its vision is clear: dominate the next phase of global AI development through consolidation, infrastructure, and talent.