Scale AI vs Suno: Founders, CEOs and History
Scale AI was founded in 2016 by Alexandr Wang, Lucy Guo and is led by Francis deSouza. Suno was founded in 2022 by Mikey Shulman, Keenan Freyberg, Martin Camacho and is led by Mikey Shulman.
Company facts
Founders
Scale AI
Alexandr Wang
Alexandr Wang co-founded Scale AI in 2016 and was its CEO until June 2025. He led the move from self-driving data into language-model training data and U.S. defense work, and Forbes named him the youngest self-made billionaire in 2022.
Lucy Guo
Lucy Guo co-founded Scale AI with Alexandr Wang in 2016 and led early product and design work. She left in 2018 and later founded the venture firm Backend Capital and the creator platform Passes. Lucy Guo was born in 1994. Guo left Scale AI in 2018.
Suno
Mikey Shulman
Mikey Shulman co-founded Suno in 2023. A brilliant physicist who previously led machine learning research at Kensho Technologies, he brought absolutely critical expertise in processing massive, complex datasets.
Keenan Freyberg
Keenan Freyberg co-founded Suno in 2023. Also a key veteran from Kensho, he played a massive role in the operational scaling and productization of the underlying AI models, heavily contributing to the incredibly simple, user-friendly web interface that sparked…
Martin Camacho
Martin Camacho co-founded Suno in 2023. As a highly skilled machine learning engineer with a deep passion for music, he was absolutely instrumental in training the complex audio diffusion models required to make AI-generated vocals sound genuinely human and em…
Georg Kucsko
Georg Kucsko co-founded Suno in 2023. Bringing massive expertise in highly complex mathematical modeling from his time at Kensho, he helped design the underlying neural network architecture capable of understanding musical theory, rhythm, and structural compos…
CEOs and their tenures
Scale AI
- Alexandr Wang2016–2025
Co-Founder, former CEO and Chairman
Co-founded Scale and ran it until June 2025, when he joined Meta; remains chairman of the board.
Source - Jason Droege2025–2026
Interim Chief Executive Officer
Former chief strategy officer and Uber Eats founder who led Scale through the post-Meta-deal restructuring.
Source - Francis deSouza2026–present
Chief Executive Officer
Former Illumina CEO and Google Cloud COO, appointed CEO effective August 10, 2026 to grow the applications business.
Source
Suno
- Mikey Shulman2022–present
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Mikey Shulman co-founded Suno with fellow machine learning experts. As CEO, he led the creation of the breakthrough generative AI platform capable of producing high-quality, full-length songs with vocals and instrumentation from simple text prompts.
Source - Georg Kucsko2022–2024
Co-Founder
As a key Co-Founder, he manages the absolute bleeding-edge research required to keep Suno ahead of massive tech giants entering the audio generation space.
Source
Timeline: Scale AI and Suno side by side
2016Scale AI
Scale AI founded
Alexandr Wang and Lucy Guo founded Scale in Y Combinator's S16 batch.
2018Scale AI
Lucy Guo departs
Co-founder Lucy Guo left the company.
2019Scale AI
Series C and unicorn status
Founders Fund led a $100 million round valuing Scale above $1 billion.
2021Scale AI
Series E at $7.3 billion
Scale raised $325 million at a $7.3 billion valuation.
2022Suno
Suno Founded in Cambridge by Kensho Veterans
Mikey Shulman, Keenan Freyberg, Martin Camacho, and Georg Kucsko incorporated Suno to pioneer generative audio intelligence.
2023Suno
Bark Open-Source Audio Model Released
Released Bark, a very popular open-source text-to-audio model demonstrating expressive speech, singing, and background noise.
2023Suno
Launch of Web Platform & Discord Community
Launched the initial generative music web application, quickly reaching millions of viral songs across social media.
2023Suno
Microsoft Copilot Partnership
Partnered with Microsoft to integrate Suno music generation directly into the Microsoft Copilot ecosystem.
2024Scale AI
Series F at $13.8 billion
Accel led a $1 billion round with Nvidia, Amazon and Meta participating.
2024Suno
Suno v3 Launch & $125M Series B at $500M Valuation
Released Suno v3 and closed a $125M Series B round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners at a reported $500M valuation.
2024Suno
RIAA Copyright Lawsuit Filed & Defense of Fair Use
Major record labels filed federal copyright lawsuits; Suno defended its technology under established legal fair use doctrines.
2024Suno
Launch of Suno Mobile App and v4 Model
Released iOS and Android apps and debuted the v4 model in late 2024.
2025Scale AI
Meta invests $14.3 billion
Meta took 49% at a valuation above $29 billion; Wang joined Meta and Jason Droege became interim CEO.
2025Scale AI
Layoffs
Scale cut 200 full-time staff and 500 contractors in July.
2025Suno
$250M Series C at $2.45B Valuation
Closed a $250M Series C led by Menlo Ventures with NVentures, Hallwood Media, Lightspeed and Matrix on November 19, 2025.
2025Suno
Warner Music Settlement, Licensing Deal and Songkick Purchase
Warner Music Group settled its copyright suit, agreed to license music for future Suno models and sold Songkick to Suno in November 2025.
2026Scale AI
Francis deSouza becomes CEO
The former Illumina chief took over on August 10, 2026.
2026Suno
2 Million Paid Subscribers and $300M ARR
Suno reported 2 million paid subscribers and $300M in annual recurring revenue in February 2026.
2026Suno
$400M Series D at $5.4B Valuation
Raised a $400M Series D led by Bond Capital in June 2026, more than doubling its valuation in about seven months.
2026Suno
Suno v6 Launch and Second UMG/Sony Lawsuit
Launched v6 on September 9, 2026, built with Warner Music Group, BMG and Believe; Universal and Sony filed a second suit on September 18.
Acquisitions
Scale AI
- ICG Solutions2026Undisclosed
- SiaSearch2021Undisclosed
- Helia2020Undisclosed
Suno
- Songkick2025Undisclosed
- WavTool2025Undisclosed
- Bark Speech & Audio Generation Research IP2023Undisclosed
Questions about Scale AI vs Suno
Who is the CEO of Scale AI, Inc. and Suno?
Scale AI, Inc. is led by Francis deSouza and Suno is led by Mikey Shulman. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Scale AI, Inc. founded vs Suno?
Scale AI, Inc. was founded in 2016 — 6 years before Suno, which was founded in 2022. Scale AI, Inc.'s longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Suno.
How many employees does Scale AI, Inc. have compared to Suno?
Scale AI, Inc. employs approximately 1,200 people. A verified employee count for Suno is not currently available.
Where are Scale AI, Inc. and Suno headquartered?
Both Scale AI, Inc. and Suno are headquartered in United States. Their local rules and tax obligations may still differ.
Who founded Scale AI, Inc. and Suno?
Scale AI, Inc. was founded by Alexandr Wang, Lucy Guo. Suno was founded by Mikey Shulman, Keenan Freyberg, Martin Camacho, Georg Kucsko.
Which company has a longer operating history — Scale AI, Inc. or Suno?
Scale AI, Inc. has been operating for approximately 10 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Suno has been in operation for around 4 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Scale AI vs Suno overview