Alexandr Wang's story begins in Los Alamos, New Mexico, where he was born to Chinese immigrant parents, both nuclear physicists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Growing up amidst scientific brilliance, Wang developed a keen intellect and a fascination for data that would eventually lead him to become one of the youngest self-made billionaires in artificial intelligence. His path was unconventional, marked by bold decisions and a relentless pursuit of innovation.

Before embarking on his entrepreneurial journey, Wang honed his technical skills at Quora. His academic pursuits led him to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a world-renowned engineering school. However, traditional education proved insufficient to hold his attention for long. Demonstrating his decisive nature, Wang dropped out of MIT after just one year to join the prestigious startup accelerator Y Combinator.

It was at Y Combinator in 2016 that Alexandr Wang co-founded Scale AI with Lucy Guo, a fellow Quora alumna. Scale AI addressed a crucial yet often overlooked aspect of the burgeoning AI revolution: the need for large volumes of high-quality, human-labelled data. Their foundational work became indispensable for advanced AI systems, including OpenAI's ChatGPT and the algorithms powering self-driving cars.

Scale AI experienced a meteoric rise. Within two years of its inception, both Wang and Guo were recognized on Forbes' "30 Under 30" list for enterprise technology. Despite this early success, their partnership faced internal turbulence, leading to Lucy Guo's departure amid reported differences over product vision, with some sources suggesting she was forced out. Nevertheless, Scale AI continued its impressive trajectory. By 2019, the company achieved unicorn status, raising $100 million from Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund. A subsequent massive fundraising round garnered an additional $580 million, elevating Scale AI's valuation to $7 billion. At the age of 24, Alexandr Wang officially became the world's youngest self-made billionaire.

In a significant strategic move reported by Reuters, Meta recently acquired a 49% stake in Scale AI for a staggering $15 billion, which propelled Scale AI's valuation to over $29 billion. This partnership transcended mere financial investment; it signaled a critical leap forward in the intensely competitive AI race. As part of this landmark agreement, Alexandr Wang assumed leadership of a new 50-person research lab at Meta. This specialized lab is dedicated to the ambitious goal of building artificial superintelligence (ASI)—AI systems designed to dramatically surpass human cognitive abilities. This initiative underscores Meta's serious intent to emerge as a formidable rival to industry giants like OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft in the development of next-generation AI innovation.

From his origins in New Mexico to steering a multibillion-dollar company and now spearheading Meta's cutting-edge AI research, Alexandr Wang has followed an extraordinary and visionary path. His journey epitomizes the new generation of tech leadership: young, daring, and deeply rooted in the transformative power of data. Still in his twenties, Wang is not merely developing tools for present-day AI applications; he is actively contributing to defining the profound impact and future direction of artificial intelligence for the world tomorrow.