Alexandr Wang, CEO of Scale AI, testifies during a House Armed Services Subcommittee hearing about artificial intelligence on July 18, 2023, in Washington, D.C.

The Bay Area’s turbulent tech industry maintains its cultural sway, with three local execs landing a place on a new Time Magazine list of 100 of the world’s “most influential rising stars.” Each CEO was featured in the list’s “Innovators” section.

Alexandr Wang is the best known of the trio. The 27-year-old co-founder and CEO of tech startup Scale AI, Wang claimed Forbes’ “youngest self-made billionaire” title in May when his company secured a $13.8 billion valuation. Scale AI helps artificial intelligence developers improve their models. It’s a mission that, so far, has required the repetitive work of thousands of contractors across the world who label images, edit and write text and otherwise provide companies with the necessary data for training their machines. Scale AI now boasts high-powered customers like Meta, Nvidia and OpenAI.

Wang’s stature has grown apace, with a Meta Gala invite and an appearance before Congress. OpenAI’s CEO, Sam........

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