Scale (YC S16) Raises $100M from Accel and Founders Fund at $1B Valuation
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Re: Scale (YC S16) Raises $100M from Accel and Founders Fund at $1B Valuation
#2I saw someone on Twitter post that this was a real life “Not Hotdog” from HBO’s Silicon Valley, though ironically this company doesn’t actually use AI or ML at all it’s just scaled human contract workers.
There’s some social commentary in there somewhere.
Re: Scale (YC S16) Raises $100M from Accel and Founders Fund at $1B Valuation
#3Hey everyone! I'm Alex, CEO/founder of Scale!
I just wanted to chime in that we're a YC company as well (S16), and I'm thankful to the HN community for having been supportive through our whole journey.
Re: Scale (YC S16) Raises $100M from Accel and Founders Fund at $1B Valuation
#4I really dislike this sort of journalism. Theranos was founded by a 19 year old too. That one didn't work out so well. Was it because the founder was so young? The board so oblivious? (a bit of both if you read the book)
What does it really matter how "old" the founder is, does the business have a workable business plan? Can it be profitable? Do people pay enough money for its goods and services to return a net income? Those are interesting questions. That it was started by a teenager is not, to my way of thinking, particularly relevant.
I'd much prefer that the article focus on these things which helps us understand the value that they bring to the market and what makes them unique.
Re: Scale (YC S16) Raises $100M from Accel and Founders Fund at $1B Valuation
#5I saw someone on Twitter post that this was a real life “Not Hotdog” from HBO’s Silicon Valley, though ironically this company doesn’t actually use AI or ML at all it’s just scaled human contract workers. There’s some social commentary in there somewhere.
We do use AI and ML to help making the labeling process more efficient, but you are correct we do have scaled human insight that ensures very high quality.
One difference from "Not Hotdog" is that our data is used to power the algorithms of other AI/ML companies like OpenAI, Waymo, Lyft, etc., so it's imperative that we have impeccable quality. That necessitates humans to ensure accuracy, particularly in safety-critical applications like self-driving cars.
Re: Scale (YC S16) Raises $100M from Accel and Founders Fund at $1B Valuation
#6I really dislike this sort of journalism. Theranos was founded by a 19 year old too. That one didn't work out so well. Was it because the founder was so young? The board so oblivious? (a bit of both if you read the book) What does it really matter how "old" the founder is, does the business have a workable business plan? Can it be profitable? Do people pay enough money for its goods and services to return a net incom…
Agreed. I don't object to company or founder exposés such as these, but I do find the article's focus on the founders' age to be misplaced and distasteful. I also think that these kinds of breathless adorations of the latest "wunderkind" to contribute to the widespread perception/reality of ageism within the industry.
I understand it makes for a more click-attracting title, but imagine if the title was "Silicon Valley's Latest Unicorn Is Run By an Asian" - it sounds offensive, at least to me. Preferably the articles would focus on something other than a protected class.
Note that age is not technically a protected class, only "advanced age", defined as 40+, but I personally think that making unbounded age a protected class would be beneficial for everyone. Refusing to hire someone because they're "too young" is equally as offensive as refusing because they're "too old".
Re: Scale (YC S16) Raises $100M from Accel and Founders Fund at $1B Valuation
#7I saw someone on Twitter post that this was a real life “Not Hotdog” from HBO’s Silicon Valley, though ironically this company doesn’t actually use AI or ML at all it’s just scaled human contract workers. There’s some social commentary in there somewhere.
It is notable that one of Scale's customers has a real yellow Corvette with "#NotHotdog" as a bumper sticker.
Re: Scale (YC S16) Raises $100M from Accel and Founders Fund at $1B Valuation
#8I saw someone on Twitter post that this was a real life “Not Hotdog” from HBO’s Silicon Valley, though ironically this company doesn’t actually use AI or ML at all it’s just scaled human contract workers. There’s some social commentary in there somewhere.
We do use AI and ML to help making the labeling process more efficient, but you are correct we do have scaled human insight that ensures very high quality. One difference from "Not Hotdog" is that our data is used to power the algorithms of other AI/ML companies like OpenAI, Waymo, Lyft, etc., so it's imperative that we have impeccable quality. That necessitates humans to ensure accuracy, particularly in safety-criti…
I consider this a good thing. I hope the next few years play out well for your company. Good luck!
Re: Scale (YC S16) Raises $100M from Accel and Founders Fund at $1B Valuation
#9> It’s built a set of software tools that take a first pass at marking up pictures before handing them off to a network of some 30,000 contract workers, who then perform the finishing touches.
Machine learning indeed.
Re: Scale (YC S16) Raises $100M from Accel and Founders Fund at $1B Valuation
#10I saw someone on Twitter post that this was a real life “Not Hotdog” from HBO’s Silicon Valley, though ironically this company doesn’t actually use AI or ML at all it’s just scaled human contract workers. There’s some social commentary in there somewhere.
It is notable that one of Scale's customers has a real yellow Corvette with "#NotHotdog" as a bumper sticker.
I genuinely am not sure who you're talking about, but good to know!