Scale AI announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Francis deSouza as Chief Executive Officer, effective August 10, 2026. The appointment was announced July 30, 2026. Jason Droege, who has led Scale as interim CEO since June 2025, will work closely with deSouza during the transition.
deSouza brings more than three decades of experience building and scaling enterprise technology businesses. He most recently served as Chief Operating Officer and President of Security Products at Google Cloud. Before that, he served as President and CEO of Illumina, where he grew the company’s revenue to over $4.5 billion across more than 150 countries. Earlier in his career, he was President of Products and Services at Symantec and founded two companies acquired by Microsoft and Symantec.
Scale’s momentum has been accelerating, with recent enterprise wins including BP and Mayo Clinic, along with expanded business with US and international governments. Scale’s data engine underpins model development at major frontier AI labs, while its Generative AI Platform powers AI programs across governments and enterprises.
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“There is no better person to lead Scale through this critical moment in AI than Francis. He has led and scaled complex, technical businesses, and understands what it takes to serve both enterprises and governments at the highest level of trust and reliability.”
Alexandr Wang, Founder and Chairman of the Board, Scale AI
“I want to thank the Board for their confidence and Jason Droege for his leadership over the past year. Scale sits at a rare intersection of frontier model development and real-world deployment, and the opportunity for continued growth and success is enormous.”
Francis deSouza, Incoming CEO, Scale AI
