Data-labeling firm Scale AI confirmed on Friday that it has received a "significant" investment from Meta that values the startup at $29 billion.

Meta is making its first major minority investment in an outside company as it tries to catch up to a growing field of artificial intelligence rivals.

Meta Platforms Inc. has finalized a multibillion-dollar investment in Scale AI and recruited the startup’s chief executive officer to join its artificial intelligence efforts — an unusual deal that signals a heightened push by the social media giant to catch up on AI development.