Meta-owned Scale AI has appointed former Google Cloud executive Francis deSouza as its new chief executive officer (CEO). The announcement was also welcomed by Scale AI founder and Meta AI chief Alexandr Wang, who congratulated deSouza in a post on X and called him the ‘right steward’ to lead the company into its next phase.
Sharing the news on X, deSouza said he will officially take over as CEO on August 10. Before joining Scale AI, he served as chief operating officer of Google Cloud and also led its security products business.
“Big News: I’m joining @scale_AI as CEO, starting August 10. Scale sits at a rare intersection, working with the top AI labs to push the frontier while helping enterprises and governments actually deploy AI they can verify and trust. I’m excited to lead a company with a mission to develop reliable AI systems for the most important decisions. More to come,” deSouza posted on the social media platform.
Reacting to the announcement, Alexandr Wang welcomed deSouza to Scale AI.
“Welcome @fdesouza to @scale_AI as CEO!. I started Scale a decade ago at 19, and it has grown to be the backbone of the AI world, powering frontier labs, Fortune 500 companies, and the US Government. Francis is an exceptional leader and the right steward. After spending a lot of time together, I have no doubts he’ll take Scale to greater heights. Thank you @jdroege for your leadership as interim CEO,” he wrote on X.
According to Axios, deSouza is replacing Jason Droege, who became interim CEO after Wang left Scale AI in 2025 to lead Meta’s AI division after Meta’s $14.3 billion investment in the startup.
The report said Scale AI wants to become known as a company that helps businesses use AI, instead of being seen mainly as a company that manages AI training data.
“Organisations understand the value and the potential of AI, but they want help realizing that potential and deploying AI responsibly and reliably. That’s a very, very big need,” deSouza told Axios.
