After leaving Scale AI, Guo founded Backend Capital, specializing in investing in early-stage technology startups. In 2022, she shifted her focus to Passes, a platform enabling celebrities and content creators to interact with fans through video calls. According to Business Insider, Passes differentiates itself from competitors like Patreon and OnlyFans by integrating AI technology, allowing audiences to interact with digital models of their idols.

Lucy Guo, founder of Scale AI, has been named the world's youngest self-made female billionaire by Forbes in 2025. In 2016, Guo and Alexandr Wang co-founded Scale AI, a company specializing in providing training data for AI models. Mark Zuckerberg invested USD 14.3 billion to acquire a 49% stake in the company.

Guo and Wang partnered to establish Scale AI after working together at the online question-and-answer site Quora. Although she left Scale AI in 2018, she retains approximately 5% ownership. Thanks to her assets in Scale AI, she became the world's youngest self-made female billionaire at 31, surpassing Taylor Swift, who previously held the record at 35.

Guo frequently shares her personal life on social media. She travels the world and attends numerous festivals. From 2023 to 2024, Guo and Passes hosted Lucypalooza, a birthday celebration featuring content creators, startups, and musicians.

Born in 1994, Guo grew up in Fremont, California, in a family of Chinese immigrants. Her parents were electrical engineers. As a teenager, she taught herself to code, taking on various jobs like selling Pokemon cards and programming software bots to automate in-game actions for other players, simultaneously selling in-game items for profit.

According to Entrepreneur magazine, Guo actively sought opportunities rather than waiting for them. She was accepted into Carnegie Mellon University to study computer science but dropped out in 2014 after receiving the Thiel Fellowship, a two-year USD 100,000 grant. The fellowship, awarded by former PayPal CEO Peter Thiel, supports young individuals pursuing entrepreneurial projects.

According to Entrepreneur magazine, despite being a billionaire, Guo often drives her old Honda Civic to work, shops on the budget retail platform Shein, and reserves designer clothing for special occasions.

Lucy Guo meets billionaire Bill Gates at a technology event.

She embraces the "quiet luxury" trend, avoiding ostentatious brand logos and opting for high-quality pieces with impeccable craftsmanship, prioritizing timeless elegance and practicality over fleeting trends.

In an interview with Fortune, Guo suggested that most billionaires choose a simple style because they don't need to impress others. "They don't wear suits all day because they've already proven themselves to the world. Now, everyone else is just trying to impress them," she said.

Guo describes her life as rather boring, often glued to her laptop or phone for work. She works at least eight hours daily, even during holidays.

Her day typically begins with a workout, followed by responding to emails and meetings with employees and partners. She orders food through delivery apps rather than cooking.

The tech billionaire during a visit to Kruger National Park in South Africa in 2022.

According to Business Insider, before acquiring a USD 6.7 million apartment in 2020, Guo lived as a digital nomad, working remotely while traveling for several years. In 2024, she purchased an additional USD 4.2 million home in West Hollywood.

Her upbringing in an environment that emphasized frugality influenced her financial mindset. As a child, her parents advised her against extravagant spending whenever she earned money.

"Many people tend to raise their standard of living as their income increases, which prevents them from saving. The more you save, the more you can invest. Over time, that makes a big difference," Guo said.

Que Chi

Photo: Instagram Lucy Guo