Scale AI Acquires Pesto AI’s Remote Developer Team
▼ Summary
– Scale AI has hired the team from Pesto AI, a remote developer recruitment startup, as announced by Pesto’s co-founder Ayush Jaiswal.
– Pesto AI, founded in 2017 by Jaiswal and Swiggy co-founder Rahul Jaimini, raised over $8 million with backing from notable investors like Ryan Hoover and Sahil Lavingia.
– Pesto AI is shutting down operations, and it’s unclear how many of its 71 employees will join Scale AI.
– Jaiswal, now Scale AI’s head of growth, stated his move aligns with his passion for using AI to create global opportunities.
– Pesto AI initially focused on educating developers before shifting to remote recruitment.
Scale AI, a leading data-labeling startup, has brought on board the entire team from Pesto AI, a platform specializing in remote developer recruitment. The acquisition was confirmed through a blog post by one of Pesto’s co-founders, though specific financial terms remain undisclosed.
Launched in 2017 by Ayush Jaiswal and Rahul Jaimini (co-founder of Indian food delivery giant Swiggy), Pesto AI attracted notable investors, including Product Hunt’s Ryan Hoover and Gumroad’s Sahil Lavingia. Over the years, the startup secured over $8 million in funding, according to Crunchbase data.
With this transition, Pesto AI will cease operations, though it’s unclear how many of its 71 employees (as listed on LinkedIn) will move to Scale AI. Jaiswal, now listed as Scale’s Head of Growth, shared in his blog post that joining Scale represents a natural progression in his mission to leverage AI for global talent empowerment.
Before pivoting to remote hiring, Pesto AI initially focused on developer education, offering training programs to upskill engineers. The acquisition underscores Scale AI’s continued expansion beyond its core data-labeling services into broader AI-driven workforce solutions.
Requests for comment from Scale AI went unanswered at the time of reporting. The move highlights the growing intersection between AI infrastructure companies and talent acquisition platforms, as businesses increasingly seek scalable, tech-enabled hiring solutions.
(Source: TechCrunch)
