Meta's AI Ambitions: Zuckerberg Touts Llama 3 and Plans for AI Assistant Dominance

Mark Zuckerberg Says Meta's $405B Model Llama 3.1 Has Better Cost Performance Than OpenAI's ChatGPT: This Is An 'Inflection Point In The Industry' - Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)

Meta Platforms, Inc. META CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday said that his company's $405 billion model, Llama 3.1, has "better cost performance" compared to leading closed models, possibly referring to OpenAI's ChatGPT. What Happened: During Meta's second-quarter earnings call, Zuckerberg stated, "I think we are going to look back at Llama 3.1 as an inflection point in the industry where open-source AI started to become the industry standard, just like Linux is." He went on to explain his bullish stance on open source, stating it enables faster innovation, creates shared prosperity, and is safer. "My view is that Open Source will be safer, will enable innovation that improves all of our lives faster, and we'll also create more shared prosperity." See Also: Microsoft's Windows Reportedly Warns Users To Backup Their Data In The Cloud To Have 'Peace Of Mind' -- But At What Price? Zuckerberg also highlighted Meta's successful track record with open source, citing billions of dollars saved through the open compute project and real benefits derived from open-sourcing tools like PyTorch and React. The Meta CEO also revealed that work has already begun on Llama 4, which is expected to be the most advanced model in the industry next year. "The amount of compute needed to train Llama 4 will likely be almost 10 times more than what we used to train Llama 3, and future models will continue to grow beyond that," he stated. Subscribe to the Benzinga Tech Trends newsletter to get all the latest tech developments delivered to your inbox. Why It Matters: Earlier this month, during a fireside chat at SIGGRAPH 2024, Zuckerberg expressed his frustration with closed platforms. He said, "There have just been too many things I've tried to build and told 'nah, you can't really build that' by the platform provider, that at some level I'm just like, 'Nah, f*** that.'" His stance on open-source AI models was supported by Tesla CEO and xAI founder Elon Musk, who publicly expressed his agreement with Zuckerberg's views. Previously, Zuckerberg also acknowledged the contributions of Sam Altman to OpenAI's development but pointed out the irony in his company leading closed AI models while having the word "open" in its name. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Meta reported second-quarter revenue of $39.07 billion, surpassing analyst predictions of $38.31 billion. The company also reported adjusted earnings of $5.16 per share for the second quarter, exceeding the estimated $4.73 per share. Price Action: Meta shares surged by 7.17% in after-hours trading, reaching $508.87 at the time of writing. The regular session on Wednesday concluded with a 2.51% increase, closing at $474.83, according to Benzinga Pro. Check out more of Benzinga's Consumer Tech coverage by following this link. Read Next: Epic Games' Tim Sweeney Slams Apple's 'Find My' Anti-Theft Feature, Calls It 'Super Creepy Surveillance Tech' That Should Not Exist Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Mark Zuckerberg Aims For AI Assistant Dominance Over Siri, Alexa, And ChatGPT, Seeks Market Leadership By 'End Of The Year' - Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Meta Platforms, Inc. META is making a significant push into the AI assistant market, aiming to surpass competitors like Apple Inc.'s AAPL Siri, Alphabet Inc. GOOG, GOOG subsidiary Google's Assistant, Amazon.com Inc.'s AMZN Alexa, OpenAI's ChatGPT and Microsoft Corp.'s MSFT Copilot, What Happened: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed during the company's second-quarter earnings call that Meta AI "is on track to achieve our goal of becoming the most used AI assistant by the end of the year." Zuckerberg emphasized Meta's strategy to integrate AI across its platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. He highlighted the rapid progress and improvements in Meta AI's intelligence and features. Meta's unique approach involves an open-source model with its Llama foundation models, which Zuckerberg believes will accelerate innovation and enhance safety in AI development. Additionally, Meta has launched AI Studio, a platform enabling users to create their own AI agents. Zuckerberg noted the importance of allowing people to create multiple AIs, not just a single assistant. While Meta AI is still in its early stages, the company reports promising engagement metrics. "People have used Meta AI for billions of queries since we first introduced it," Susan Li, Meta's CFO, revealed during the call. The company is also investing heavily in infrastructure to support its AI ambitions, with significant capital expenditures expected in 2025 to build out AI capacity. See Also: Dow Jumps Over 650 Points Following Inflation Data: Fear & Greed Index Moves To 'Neutral' Zone Why It Matters Meta's aggressive push into the AI assistant market comes at a time when competitors are also ramping up their efforts. In May, Apple Inc. announced plans to overhaul Siri, enabling the assistant to control individual app functions using voice commands. This overhaul required a revamp of Siri's underlying software using large language models, a core technology behind generative AI. In June, Amazon.com Inc. revealed plans for a major Alexa overhaul, integrating conversational generative AI. The project, known internally as "Banyan," will introduce a two-tier system with a premium version potentially costing around $5 monthly. This marks the first major update to the voice assistant since its 2014 launch. Meta's AI assistant, powered by the newly launched Llama 3 model, has also integrated real-time search results from Google and Bing. This integration is a significant departure from the usual approach adopted by these tech giants, according to Josh Brown, CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management. Meanwhile, Meta's second-quarter performance has been impressive, with the company beating analyst estimates on both revenue and EPS. This marks the sixth consecutive quarter of surpassing expectations. The company reported a revenue of $39.07 billion, surpassing the estimated $38.31 billion, and an adjusted EPS of $5.16, beating the estimated $4.73. Price Action: Meta shares jumped 7.17% in after-hours trading, reaching $508.87 at the time of writing. The regular session on Wednesday ended with a 2.51% increase, closing at $474.83, according to Benzinga Pro. Read Next: If You Invested $1000 in Bitcoin When Trump Said Its Value Is 'Based On Thin Air,' Here's How Much It'd Be Worth When He Said 'Never Sell Your BTC' Image Via Shutterstock This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Kaustubh Bagalkote Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs