Meta has finalized a deal to pay around $15 billion in cash for a 49% stake in Scale AI, sources told Axios.

Why it matters: The deal will help transform Meta's AI efforts, but also raises big questions for the future of Scale, a company best known for labeling data for all the major AI players, including Google and OpenAI.

Catch up quick: The investment, which gives Meta a minority non-voting stake, values Scale at more than $29 billion.

• Scale CEO Alexandr Wang will join Meta as part of its effort to reboot its AI research in pursuit of "superintelligence."
• Chief strategy officer Jason Droege, a former Uber Eats executive, will serve as interim CEO, the company said.
• Of Scale's roughly 1,500 employees, just a small number are expected to join Meta.

Zoom in: In a statement, Droege and Wang said Scale aimed to continue serving other companies even as it expands its work with Meta.

• "To our valued customers, we remain committed to partnering with you to build customized AI solutions that transform your organizations," Droege said.
• Scale said employees and investors would share in the proceeds of the deal.

The intrigue: Other big AI players may be wary of doing business and sharing data with a company so tightly aligned with Meta.

• Even though Meta isn't buying all of Scale, regulators may also still raise objections.

The big picture: Big Tech is slicing off people, patents and other parts of AI startups, without buying them whole.

• Microsoft did it last year with chatbot Inflection AI, in which Microsoft got the services of Inflection CEO (and DeepMind co-founder) Mustafa Suleyman as well as other colleagues and technology. Inflection's investors got an immediate return while the company continued operating, slimmed-down and enterprise-focused.
• Google made a similar arrangement with Character.AI, acquiring key talent and a technology license and handing over millions to Character.AI's investors without buying the entire company.

Mattel is teaming up with OpenAI to create AI-enabled toys, but don't expect to unwrap a ChatGPT Barbie this winter holiday, a source tells Axios.

Between the lines: Mattel hasn't decided if its first AI product will be a toy, a "digital experience" or something else — and hasn't picked which brand to start with.

Driving the news: OpenAI and Mattel yesterday announced a partnership to give Mattel workers access to ChatGPT Enterprise and collaborate on "AI-powered products and experiences."

Zoom in: A small team at Mattel's El Segundo, California headquarters is working on the project, which is still in its early stages, the source said.

• Mattel hopes to reveal its first AI product this year, but it likely won't hit shelves until later, the source said.
• One thing is clear: The first product won't be for kids under 13 — a move that helps Mattel avoid stricter regulations and sidestep criticism over marketing AI to young children.

Zoom out: This isn't the company's first foray into AI. As Axios first reported earlier this year, Mattel has been using Google's AI tools to help assess feedback and spot issues more quickly.

President Trump will appear at Sen. Dave McCormick's (R-Pa.) inaugural Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit next month in Pittsburgh to discuss AI, energy and labor, McCormick's office tells Axios.

Why it matters: Trump's attendance at the July 15 summit at Carnegie Mellon University is a big win for McCormick's efforts to bring AI and energy leaders together for the first time.

• Both industries have pressing needs and a heavily intertwined future, but they've had few opportunities to come together on a scale like this.
• Pennsylvania is the world's fourth-largest producer of natural gas and a key swing state.

The big picture: The roster of invitees and attendees for the conference includes key figures from the White House, Big Tech, Big Energy and the building trades.

• Trump's AI czar David Sacks, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and other top officials from Trump's orbit plan to be there.
• OpenAI's Sam Altman, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft's Satya Nadella, Alphabet's Sundar Pichai, Anthropic's Dario Amodei and other tech heavies are all on the guest list.
• ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods, Shell CEO Wael Sawan, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, EQT (Pittsburgh-based natural gas giant) CEO Toby Rice and other energy leaders are also on the list.

Catch up quick: McCormick, elected in 2024 with Trump's backing, has been pitching Pennsylvania's energy resources and prime location as a launchpad for the next wave of AI-driven industry.

• Energy was a key part of McCormick's 2024 campaign, where he repeatedly argued that his opponent, former Sen. Bob Casey, hadn't done enough to promote the state's natural gas industry.
• McCormick was rewarded with a seat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where he chairs the energy subcommittee.

What they're saying: "Harnessing Pennsylvania's unique strengths to attract new data center investment and energy infrastructure development will jumpstart Pennsylvania's economy, create great, new jobs, and bolster our national security," McCormick said in a statement.

• White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Axios in a statement that Trump and McCormick will be joined by CEOs and leading investors "who are committed to creating thousands of good jobs, developing critical AI infrastructure, and unleashing Pennsylvania's energy industry."

Between the lines: On Monday, Amazon announced plans to invest $20 billion in the state to build a pair of data center complexes, including one outside Philadelphia.

Yes, but: Powering the AI revolution is complicated, and the amount of energy it consumes is still a black box.

The bottom line: Pennsylvania is fast becoming the GOP's proving ground for pairing AI ambition with economic renewal.

Axios' Chuck McCutcheon contributed reporting.

• Apple is reportedly aiming to release an updated AI Siri in spring 2026, as part of an iOS 26.4 software update. (Bloomberg)
• Meta sued the maker of an app that uses AI to "nudify" images. (CNBC)
• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says there's an "inflection point happening" in quantum computing right now. (Axios)

There is a new "Spaceballs" movie coming. And while it won't hit theaters until 2027, Mel Brooks posted an amazing teaser video yesterday