Meta AI head shares message for Google Cloud head, who announced he is joining ScaleAI; the company Alexandr Wang founded, but left to head Mark Zuckerberg’s AI division
Scale AI has appointed Francis deSouza, Google Cloud’s chief operating officer, as its new CEO. He replaces interim chief executive Jason Droege, who had led the company since founder Alexandr Wang departed in 2025 to join Meta after its $14.3 billion investment in the startup. Meta AI head Alexandr Wang congratulated deSouza on joining ScaleAI. According to a report by Axios, this new hire signals Scale’s ambition to position itself as an enterprise AI company rather than a data management firm. DeSouza, who also served as president of Google Cloud’s security products business, said he was drawn to Scale because enterprises need help turning AI hype into measurable business results. “Organizations understand the value and the potential of AI, but they want help realizing that potential and deploying AI responsibly and reliably,” he told Axios.
Meta AI head Alexandr Wang’s message to Google Cloud head
Following the announcement, Meta AI head Wang shared a message of support for deSouza on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter). Wang wrote, “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.” The exchange highlighted the close ties between Scale and Meta, given Wang’s transition to lead Mark Zuckerberg’s AI division last year.
What Francis deSouza said on joining ScaleAI
deSouza also shared a post on X about joining ScaleAI as the CEO. “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,” wrote deSouza.
Who is Francis deSouza
Francis deSouza is a seasoned technology executive who has held leadership roles across cloud computing, cybersecurity, and genomics. Most recently, he served as Chief Operating Officer and President of Security Products at Google Cloud, where he focused on enterprise adoption of AI and cloud services. Before that, he was President and CEO of Illumina, the genomics company, overseeing its global expansion and revenue growth. Earlier in his career, deSouza held senior positions at Symantec and also founded two startups that were acquired by Microsoft and Symantec. He studied computer science and electrical engineering at MIT, earning both bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Now, as CEO of Scale AI, he is tasked with steering the company’s transition from a data-labeling provider to a broader enterprise AI applications firm.
ScaleAI’s expansion
The Axios report further highlighted, that Scale AI, originally known for providing data and human evaluations to train leading AI models, has expanded into building AI applications for enterprises and governments, including the U.S. Department of Defense. The company said its applications business is on track to overtake its data business within 18 months. DeSouza emphasized that demand for data labeling, application deployment, and AI infrastructure management will continue to grow as companies uncover new use cases.
