Lucy Guo
Role:
Founder & CEO of Passes; Co-founder of Scale AI; Venture Capitalist.
Net Worth:
As of April 2025, Lucy Guo’s net worth is estimated at $1.25 billion, making her the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire.
Profile Overview:
Lucy Guo is an American entrepreneur, investor, and technologist renowned for her groundbreaking work in artificial intelligence, the creator economy, and Web3. She is best known as the co-founder of Scale AI, a company that revolutionized data labeling for machine learning, and as the founder and CEO of Passes, a fast-growing platform empowering digital creators. Guo’s journey from self-taught coder to billionaire business leader has made her a prominent figure in tech and a role model for women and minorities in STEM.
Bio:
Born on October 14, 1994, and raised in Fremont, California, Lucy Guo is the daughter of Chinese immigrant electrical engineers. She began coding as a child, monetizing her skills by building bots and selling digital assets for Neopets. Guo attended Carnegie Mellon University to study computer science but left in 2014 after winning the prestigious Thiel Fellowship, a $100,000 grant for young entrepreneurs.
Her early career included internships at Facebook and a pioneering role as the first female designer at Snapchat, contributing to the launch of Snap Maps. She later joined Quora, where she met Alexandr Wang, and together they co-founded Scale AI in 2016. Guo left Scale AI in 2018 but retained a significant equity stake, which has since made her a billionaire as the company’s valuation soared.
In 2022, Guo launched Passes, a platform designed to help creators monetize their content and gain financial literacy. Passes quickly became a major player in the creator economy, raising $40 million in Series A funding by 2024.
Lucy Guo’s Role in Artificial Intelligence:
Lucy Guo’s impact on AI is most visible through Scale AI, which she co-founded to provide high-quality, scalable data annotation services essential for training machine learning models. Scale AI’s technology underpins advancements in autonomous vehicles, computer vision, and natural language processing, serving major tech clients and setting industry standards for data quality and integrity.
Guo is also a vocal advocate for ethical AI, emphasizing transparency, accountability, and the use of AI for social good. Her leadership has inspired a new generation of innovators and has helped shape the conversation around responsible AI development.
Nationality:
American
Educational Qualification:
- Carnegie Mellon University (Computer Science, left in 2014 after Thiel Fellowship).
Sources of Wealth:
- Scale AI: Co-founder; retained an estimated 5–6% stake, now worth nearly $1.2 billion.
- Passes: Founder & CEO; raised $40 million in Series A funding by 2024.
- Backend Capital: Founder; invests in early-stage startups and emerging technologies.
- Tech Industry Roles: Early career at Facebook, Snapchat (first female designer), and Quora.
- Speaking Engagements & Recognition: Forbes 30 Under 30, frequent keynote speaker, and mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs.
Random Fact:
Lucy Guo started her entrepreneurial journey as a teenager by coding and selling Neopets bots and digital assets for real money.
Lucy Guo’s career exemplifies innovation, resilience, and visionary leadership in technology and entrepreneurship. Her work continues to shape the future of AI, the creator economy, and the broader tech landscape, inspiring countless others to pursue bold ideas and break barriers.
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