FILE PHOTO: A message reading "AI artificial intelligence," a keyboard and robot hands are seen in this illustration created on January 27, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
(Reuters) -Surge AI, a data-labeling firm that competes with Scale AI, has hired advisors to raise as much as $1 billion in the first capital raising in the firm's history, sources told Reuters, as it seeks to capitalize on growing user demand amid Scale AI's recent customer exodus.
The company, founded by former Google and Meta engineer Edwin Chen, is targeting a valuation of over $15 billion, sources said, cautioning that the talks are still in early stages and the final number could be higher. The funding would be a mix of primary and secondary capital that provides liquidity for the employees.
