Scale AI built its business on the labor of gig workers. But those workers likely won't benefit from their new deal with Meta.

Scale AI co-founder Alexandr Wang is such an enthusiastic networker that his former roommate — OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman — once jokingly told him to tone it down a bit.

Meta’s deal to sort-of but not really acquire AI startup Scale, giving it 49% ownership, is certainly unusual.