Tech

Dropped out of MIT, started an AI company, expected to be the next Elon Musk

Alexandr Wang, tech entrepreneur and founder and CEO of Scale AI, recently made headlines globally as the world’s youngest self-made billionaire. He is currently 25 years old.

So who exactly is this young Asian-American billionaire? And how did he make his huge fortune?

Starting a company after dropping out of college

Portrait of the world's youngest self-made billionaire: Dropped out of MIT, founded an AI company, is expected to be the next Elon Musk - Photo 1.

Alexandr Wang met co-founder Lucy Guo while both working at Quora.

Wang began studying for a BA in Mathematics and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (aka MIT). In the summer after finishing his freshman year at a prestigious university in New England, he started Scale with Lucy Guo, a young friend who was as passionate about technology as he was.

According to Forbes, the two cofounders met while both working at the question-and-answer platform Quora. The young business duo started a business with investment capital from the US startup support company Y Combinator.

“I told my parents it was just a job I did over the summer… But obviously I never went back to school since.” Wang shared about the time when he started his business.

Billion Dollar Boy

Portrait of the world's youngest self-made billionaire: Dropped out of MIT, founded an AI company, is expected to be the next Elon Musk - Photo 2.

Alexandr Wang left MIT after finding success with his AI-based business, and he is now generating $100 million in revenue.

Last year, Wang’s company received an investment grant of about $350 million. With this financial backing, coupled with the fact that Scale reached $100 million in sales, allowed investors to value the young entrepreneur’s company up to $7.3 billion.

Based on the percentage stake in the company, Forbes has estimated that Wang’s net worth is currently $1 billion. The number is “not too bad” for a young 25-year-old. In fact, at the present time, he is already ranked 2,534th in the Forbes list of world billionaires.

Coming from a family with a scientific tradition

Portrait of the youngest self-made billionaire in the world: Dropped out of MIT, founded an AI company, is expected to be the next Elon Musk - Photo 3.

A photo Wang took in Mexico.

The young billionaire’s prowess in science and technology is said to come from his family background. Growing up in New Mexico, Wang’s parents were both physicists working on projects for the US military.

Inheriting a strong intellect, Wang regularly participates in math and coding competitions at school. At the age of 17, when most high school students were preparing for the journey to university, Wang was a full-time programmer for Quora.

Before achieving the remarkable title of the youngest self-made billionaire on the planet, Wang was named to Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list in 2018. This annual list showcases young emerging entrepreneurs, stars, thought leaders and bright minds in a wide range of industries and fields.

Customer list of more than 300 companies

Portrait of the world's youngest self-made billionaire: Dropped out of MIT, founded an AI company, is expected to be the next Elon Musk - Photo 4.

Alexandr Wang is on the left, with colleagues at the company Scale AI he founded.

According to the introduction on the official website of Scale company, this organization has the goal “accelerate the development of AI applications”.

Currently Scale AI is helping businesses deal with the data preparation needed to train AI systems. As the largest player in the field, its usefulness spans many industries, from governments and self-driving cars, to mapping, robotics, virtual reality and even the military.

Portrait of the world's youngest self-made billionaire: Dropped out of MIT, founded an AI company, is expected to be the next Elon Musk - Photo 5.

Stylish Gen Z workspace at Scale.

“Every industry uses massive amounts of data… Scale’s goal is to help them unlock the potential of data and drive their business with AI.” CEO Wang shared.

Scale’s technology is so successful and valuable that its services are used by more than 300 companies and organizations. Some of the big names using Wang’s technology include General Motors, PayPal, Toyota, SAP, Lyft and the US military.

Refer SCMP

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