She's Done With Al. Now Lucy Guo Is Making a Big Bet on People

Inside the Scale AI co-founder's plans to help influencers get paid, like, never-have-to-get-a-real-job kind of money.

- BY SAM BLUM

Lucy Guo’s résumé oozes accomplishment. The 30-year-old entrepreneur dropped out of Carnegie Mellon University’s computer science program in 2014 to become a Thiel Fellow, and two years later she co-founded Scale AI, which trains large language models, including those built by OpenAI and Meta. Today, the San Francisco-based company is valued at $14 billion.

Since leaving Scale AI in 2018, Guo hasn’t kept a low profile. In 2022, she founded Passes, an app that connects creators directly to their audiences by facilitating subscriptions and Cameo-style meet-and-greets and allowing direct messaging with fans. For creators, it’s a moneymaker. “Nowadays, we’re responsible for 80 to 100 percent of the creators’ income,” she says. Guo is a living advertisement for Passes. Her Instagram, full of red carpets and parties, is basically a sales pitch for creators to sign up.

Inc. sat down with the founder to discuss her new company—which last year landed $40 million from investors such as Bond Capital—and her foundational role in the AI revolution.

Why did you launch a creator-economy startup after being so involved with AI?