evaluator; distance from a lab: 1
Scale AI (SEAL)
Scorecard
Builds and runs evaluations for CAISI and other governments; Meta acquired 49% in 2025.
VC-backed, San Francisco, US. Confidence high. Domains: benchmarks, cyber, bio, misuse. Scores by preset: Lab procurement 38; Regulator or auditor 40; Public trust 26; Equal weights 34. Weakest dimension: funding 0/4.
What would move the score. Ownership separation of the evaluation unit; until then the ceiling is low.
Funding 0/4
Majority owned or funded by a frontier developer.
evidence: tier 3 (self)
Anchor 0 on funding given the cited signals. Curator disclosure (2026-09-15): the curator holds small public-market shareholdings in Google and Meta. This evaluator has a confirmed ledger tie to Meta (investment row T52). Per the disclosure Rule, this assessment is flagged for public review: the rationale names the holding so readers can weigh it, and any reader can file a correction through the contribution path.
- Nearly half owned by Meta, itself a frontier developer.
Third-Party Model Auditing (Longterm Wiki, 2026-01-29) tier 4 pressconfirmed Why the U.S. Needs an Independent AI Evaluation Framework for National Security (Scale AI, 2026-05-20) tier 3 selfconfirmed2026-09-14 - Meta paid $14.3B for a 49% non-voting stake in June 2025; the founder moved to Meta.
evaluators.csv (24 evaluators: Coefficient and SFF totals, lab money, government contracts, leadership) (Kevin Bass (GitHub), 2026-09-14) tier 2 ledgerunverifiable2026-09-11
Governance 0/4
Unit or subsidiary of a lab or a lab's investor.
evidence: tier 3 (self)
Anchor 0 on governance given the cited signals.
- Primary business is selling data and evaluation services to the labs; no public COI policy addressing the Meta relationship.
Why the U.S. Needs an Independent AI Evaluation Framework for National Security (Scale AI, 2026-05-20) tier 3 selfconfirmed2026-09-14 - Meta holds a 49% stake after a $14.3B investment; the founder left for Meta and an interim CEO was named; Google, OpenAI and xAI reportedly reduced engagements.
Scale AI not winding down following Meta deal, interim CEO says (CNBC, 2025-06-18) tier 4 pressconfirmed2025-06-18
Personnel 1/4
Leaders hold equity or advisory roles at labs; informal recusal.
evidence: tier 4 (press)
Anchor 1 on personnel given the cited signals.
- Leadership moved to Meta with the 2025 investment.
Third-Party Model Auditing (Longterm Wiki, 2026-01-29) tier 4 pressconfirmed2026-09-14
Access depth (lab-granted) 3/4
Helpful-only or weights-level access, chain of thought, logs, on-site.
evidence: tier 3 (self)
Anchor 3 on access given the cited signals.
- Government-defined risk domains and access agreements; first private evaluator authorized by the US institute.
Third-Party Model Auditing (Longterm Wiki, 2026-01-29) tier 4 pressconfirmed Why the U.S. Needs an Independent AI Evaluation Framework for National Security (Scale AI, 2026-05-20) tier 3 selfconfirmed2026-09-14
Scope control 2/4
Scope negotiated per engagement.
evidence: tier 3 (self)
Anchor 2 on scope given the cited signals.
- Scope set by government or lab clients.
Why the U.S. Needs an Independent AI Evaluation Framework for National Security (Scale AI, 2026-05-20) tier 3 selfconfirmed2026-09-14
Publication rights 2/4
Publishes; lab reviews with broad redaction.
evidence: tier 3 (self)
Anchor 2 on publication given the cited signals.
- Results for governments not public.
Why the U.S. Needs an Independent AI Evaluation Framework for National Security (Scale AI, 2026-05-20) tier 3 selfconfirmed2026-09-14
Method transparency 2/4
Methods described in prose.
evidence: tier 3 (self)
Anchor 2 on methods given the cited signals.
- Benchmarks partly public (SEAL leaderboards); government evaluations closed.
Why the U.S. Needs an Independent AI Evaluation Framework for National Security (Scale AI, 2026-05-20) tier 3 selfconfirmed2026-09-14
Role incompatibility 1/4
Sells to labs and to their customers.
evidence: tier 3 (self)
Anchor 1 on products given the cited signals.
- Sells data and evaluation services to labs.
Why the U.S. Needs an Independent AI Evaluation Framework for National Security (Scale AI, 2026-05-20) tier 3 selfconfirmed2026-09-14
Traced money and ties
hop 0: 1 row (investment $14300.0M). Confirmed rows: 1 of 1. Dollar sums: confirmed + unaudited USD rows only; imported figures are not re-derived and never summed. Second hop traced for 1 of 1 sources. Ties: Meta (investor, distance 0, imported). Bounded negatives on file: 1.
Ledger
Money in
- T52 from Meta: investment $14.30B, 2025-06. 49% non-voting stake confirmedtier 4 presshttps://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/18/scale-ai-not-winding-down-following-meta-deal-interim-ceo-says.html
Bounded negatives
- N12 no grant from Coefficient Giving in its index [Coefficient grants index, 2,911 rows, snapshot 2026-09-11] importedhttps://coefficientgiving.org/grants/
Roles hosted
- R51 Meta: investor, 2025-06. 49% non-voting; imported kevinnbass/metr-money-figure:EV16 importedhttps://scale.com/
- R92 Jason Droege: principal, 2025-06. research pass 2026-09-15; interim CEO unauditedhttps://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/18/scale-ai-not-winding-down-following-meta-deal-interim-ceo-says.html
One hop away
Funding graph, focused
Neighbours at full strength, everything else faded. Hover any name to move the focus; click a name to open its page.