Scale AI names former Google Cloud executive Francis deSouza as new CEO

Scale AI taps former Google Cloud executive as CEO

July 30 - Scale AI said on Thursday it had named former Google Cloud executive Francis DeSouza as chief executive officer, effective August 10, as the AI company looks to expand its data and applications businesses. DeSouza will succeed Jason Droege, who has served as interim CEO since June last year. Droege will work with deSouza in the coming months to support the transition, Scale said. Founded ⁠by Alexandr Wang, Scale provides data that powers frontier AI models and develops AI applications for businesses and governments. Last year, Wang joined Meta Platforms as its chief AI officer. Here are some details: Reporting by Prathik Jayaprakash in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Scale AI names ex-Google Cloud COO Francis deSouza as CEO

Scale AI has appointed Francis deSouza, formerly chief operating officer of Google Cloud, as its chief executive, a year after founder Alexandr Wang left for Meta. The hire of an enterprise-sales veteran signals Scale's repositioning: from the data-labelling shop that trained everyone's models into an "enterprise AI" company whose applications business is on track to overtake its data business within 18 months. A year after its founder left for Meta, Scale AI has a new boss. The choice says a lot about where the company is heading. It has named Francis deSouza, a veteran enterprise-cloud executive, as chief executive. deSouza starts on 10 August, Scale announced. He replaces interim chief Jason Droege, who ran the company after founder Alexandr Wang left in 2025 to lead Meta's AI effort. Meta had just put $14.3bn into Scale. A salesman, not a scientist deSouza's CV is enterprise sales, not model research. He was chief operating officer of Google Cloud. Before that he ran the genomics firm Illumina, growing its revenue past $4.5bn. Axios read the hire plainly: Scale wants to look like an enterprise AI company, not a data-labelling shop. deSouza told it that companies "understand the value and the potential of AI, but they want help realising that potential." He called that "a very, very big need." From labelling data to selling apps Scale made its name on the unglamorous work behind the models: paying humans to label and evaluate the data that trains them. That is now the smaller half of the story. Its applications business, building AI software for companies and governments, is on track to overtake its data business within 18 months. The customer list has moved with it, adding BP, the Mayo Clinic and the US military. The pitch, deSouza said, is "provable outcomes," echoing the wider hunt for measurable results from AI. It is a move from being AI infrastructure to joining the enterprise layer that still struggles to deploy AI. A tense moment to take the job deSouza arrives as the industry wobbles. A rogue OpenAI model just breached another company, and open-weight access is under threat. More than a thousand lab staff have signed a letter urging a slower pace of development. He would not back a slowdown. "You have to build responsibility into whatever pace you're going at," he said. For Scale, the pace question is really a growth question. His job is to keep the second act bigger than the first.

Scale AI hires former Google Cloud COO Francis deSouza as new CEO

Why it matters: Scale hired someone who spent years selling AI and cloud services to enterprises, signaling the firm sees itself as an enterprise AI company rather than a data management firm. State of play: deSouza replaces interim chief executive Jason Droege, who led the company after Wang left in 2025 following Meta's $14.3 billion investment in the startup. * DeSouza, who also served as president of Google Cloud's security products business, said he was drawn to Scale because companies today's companies 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," deSouza told Axios. "That's a very, very big need." Catch up quick: Scale AI built its business providing the data and human evaluations used to train leading AI models. * It has recently expanded into building AI applications for enterprises and governments, including the U.S. Department of Defense. Between the lines: Scale is in the midst of an expansion beyond its original focus. The company's applications business is on track to overtake its data business within the next 18 months, the company said in a blog post. * "I think the need for data labeling, for deploying applications, for managing the AI infrastructure is going to continue to grow as companies uncover more and more scenarios where they can apply AI across the organization," deSouza said, signaling he sees the applications business as additive rather than a pivot. Zoom out: The new CEO is joining the firm at a tense moment in the AI industry following a major security breach from an OpenAI model and concerns about continued access to open-weight systems. * Several tech executives, including founders of frontier AI labs, signed a letter supporting a slower pace of AI development. * deSouza did not say he supports a slowdown, instead saying "you have to build responsibility into whatever pace you're going at." The bottom line: The hire signals Scale is looking to turn from an AI infrastructure company into part of the enterprise layer that helps businesses deploy AI.

Scale AI names Francis deSouza as new CEO

Before joining Google Cloud, deSouza served as president and CEO of Illumina $ILMN, a publicly traded genomics company, where the company's revenue grew to more than $4.5 billion and its operations expanded across more than 150 countries, Scale said. His earlier career included a stint as president of products and services at Symantec, and he founded two startups that Microsoft $MSFT and Symantec each went on to acquire. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT.

Scale AI taps former Google Cloud executive as CEO

Scale AI appointed Francis DeSouza as chief executive officer, effective August 10. DeSouza brings over thirty years of enterprise technology experience to the AI company. He previously led Google Cloud's security products and served as Illumina's CEO. Scale AI recently added BP and Mayo Clinic as new enterprise customers. The company provides data powering frontier AI models and develops AI applications. Scale AI said on Thursday it had named former Google Cloud executive Francis DeSouza as chief executive officer, effective August 10, as the AI company looks to expand its data and applications businesses. DeSouza will succeed Jason Droege, who has served as ⁠interim CEO since ⁠June last year. Droege will work with deSouza in the coming months to support the transition, Scale said. Founded by Alexandr Wang, Scale provides data that powers frontier AI models and develops AI applications for businesses and governments. Last year, Wang joined Meta Platforms as ⁠its chief AI officer. DeSouza has more than 30 years of experience in enterprise technology ⁠and most recently served as chief operating officer and president of security products at Google Cloud. Before joining Google Cloud, DeSouza was president and CEO of Illumina, a genomic data and sequencing company. Scale said that under DeSouza, Illumina's revenue grew to more than $4.5 billion and the company expanded into more than 150 countries. Earlier in his career, he was president of products and services at cybersecurity company ⁠Symantec. He also founded two companies that were later acquired by Microsoft and Symantec. DeSouza holds bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Scale said it recently added BP and Mayo Clinic as enterprise customers and expanded its work with U.S. and international governments.

Scale AI taps former Google Cloud executive as CEO

July 30 - Scale AI said on Thursday it had named former Google Cloud executive Francis DeSouza as chief executive officer, effective August 10, as the AI company looks to expand its data and applications businesses. DeSouza will succeed Jason Droege, who has served as interim CEO since June last year. Droege will work with deSouza in the coming months to support the transition, Scale said. Founded by Alexandr Wang, Scale provides data that powers frontier AI models and develops AI applications for businesses and governments. Last year, Wang joined Meta Platforms as its chief AI officer. Here are some details: o DeSouza has more than 30 years of experience in enterprise technology and most recently served as chief operating officer and president of security products at Google Cloud. o Before joining Google Cloud, DeSouza was president and CEO of Illumina, a genomic data and sequencing company. o Scale said that under DeSouza, Illumina's revenue grew to more than $4.5 billion and the company expanded into more than 150 countries. o Earlier in his career, he was president of products and services at cybersecurity company Symantec. He also founded two companies that were later acquired by Microsoft and Symantec. o DeSouza holds bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. o Scale said it recently added BP and Mayo Clinic as enterprise customers and expanded its work with U.S. and international governments. (Reporting by Prathik Jayaprakash in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)