Meta's AI strategy pivots as Avocado model threatens open source commitment and sparks internal tension
15 Sources
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Meta might charge for a future AI model
Meta's next AI model could mark a change in its "open source" AI strategy that Mark Zuckerberg had called "the path forward." Currently, the company is working on a new AI model, code-named Avocado, that it might charge for access to, Bloomberg reports. Last year, Meta launched its open source
[2]
It's everyone but Meta in a new AI standards group
Report indicates that Mark Zuckerberg has other plans: to pull an open source U-turn and make Meta's best AI models proprietary. It appears Meta has opted to go in a whole new direction in response to this week's formation by The Linux Foundation of a group called the Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF),
[3]
Meta is reportedly working on a new AI model called 'Avocado' and it might not be open source
Mark Zuckerberg has for months publicly hinted that he is backing away from open-source AI models. Now, Meta's latest AI pivot is starting to come into focus. The company is reportedly working on a new model, known inside of Meta as "Avocado," which could mark a major shift away from its previous
[4]
From Llamas to Avocados: Meta's shifting AI strategy is causing internal confusion
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg makes a keynote speech at the Meta Connect annual event at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., on Sept. 25, 2024. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was so optimistic last year about his company's Llama family of artificial intelligence models that he predicted they
[5]
Meta's New A.I. Superstars Are Chafing Against the Rest of the Company
When Mark Zuckerberg revamped Meta's artificial intelligence operations this year, he recruited a new leader -- Alexandr Wang, a 28-year-old entrepreneur -- to build a team of top researchers from rivals like OpenAI and Google. That team, called TBD Lab (for "to be determined"), was placed in a
[6]
Mark Zuckerberg comes to his senses on metaverse spending, and we're thrilled
Is the "year of efficiency" Mark Zuckerberg back at Meta Platforms ? Shares of the social media giant rallied more than 5% to $676 each at Thursday's highs after Bloomberg reported that Zuckerberg is set to reduce metaverse spending up to 30%. The metaverse group, which works on the company's
[7]
Meta's new AI superstars are chafing against the rest of the company
A power struggle is growing inside Meta as Alexandr Wang's new TBD Lab clashes with long-time executives over priorities. Wang wants to focus on building superintelligence, while others push to improve social media products. Costly restructuring, budget shifts and staff tensions show Meta straining
[8]
Meta Resets AI, Hardware Plans As 'Avocado' Delays, Leadership Turmoil, Cost Cuts Mount - Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)
Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) is reshaping its artificial intelligence strategy with sweeping leadership changes, escalating investments and a decisive shift away from its open-source roots. CEO Mark Zuckerberg -- who only a year ago pushed Meta's Llama models as the future of open-source AI --
[9]
Why Meta Platforms Stock Popped Today | The Motley Fool
The catalyst that sent the social media and artificial intelligence (AI) specialist higher was a report that the company plans deep cuts to its metaverse spending. As part of the company's budget planning process for 2026, executives at Meta are considering slashing spending on the metaverse by as
[10]
Meta shares jump on report company slashing VR spending - The Economic Times
Shares in Meta rose sharply on Thursday following a report that the Facebook parent company is significantly cutting back on virtual reality investments as it pivots toward artificial intelligence. In 2021, CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg bet heavily on virtual reality's promise, even rebranding
[11]
Meta Cuts Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg Gets Richer: Wall Street Applauds Move - Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)
Shares of Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) climbed higher Thursday after the company announced job cuts. With shares trading higher, Meta CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg also saw his wealth soar, potentially at the expense of some of his company's employees. Meta Stock Gains, Zuckerberg's
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What's Going On With Meta Platforms Stock Friday? - Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)
Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is expanding Meta AI to deliver a broader range of real-time content, from breaking global news to entertainment, lifestyle, and more. When users ask Meta AI news-related questions, the system now pulls information and links from a wider variety of sources,
[13]
Meta's Avocado AI: The New Model Set to Rival ChatGPT and Gemini in 2026
Meta Hires Top AI Talent and Builds Supercomputers for Avocado, Aiming to Lead AI Race in 2026 Meta is building strong momentum in the AI race with a new model named Avocado. The project is built within the Meta Superintelligence Labs with Alexandr Wang leading the unit. Mark Zuckerberg created
[14]
Meta divided by conflict between new AI brainiacs and longtime Zuck...
Members of Meta's flashy new team of AI experts have reportedly been clashing with some of CEO Mark Zuckerberg's loyal longtime executives over what the company should prioritize. An us-versus-them mentality has riven the tech giant, with AI brainiacs disdaining Musk's inner circle as being
[15]
Meta's new AI model is called Avocado: Everything we know about it so far
Meta Superintelligence Labs developing Avocado for enterprise-focused use Meta is preparing a major shift in its artificial intelligence roadmap, and at the center of that change is a new model codenamed Avocado. Early reports suggest this system marks a significant departure from the company's
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Meta is developing a proprietary AI model code-named Avocado, marking a potential departure from Mark Zuckerberg's open source philosophy. The shift comes amid disappointing Llama 4 performance, a $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI's Alexandr Wang, and growing internal conflicts between new AI talent and longtime executives over priorities and resources.
Meta Abandons Open Source Philosophy with Avocado Development
Meta is working on a new AI model called 'Avocado' that could fundamentally alter the company's approach to artificial intelligence, with plans to charge for access rather than releasing it as open source
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. This represents a dramatic move away from open-source AI that Mark Zuckerberg championed just last year when he declared it "the path forward" and said "fuck that" about closed platforms3
. The proprietary model, expected in the first quarter of 2026, signals Meta's shifting AI strategy as the company attempts to compete with OpenAI and Google in the race toward superintelligence4
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Source: Digit
The pivot follows the disappointing performance of Llama 4, which Meta was caught gaming AI benchmarks for, and the subsequent delay of a planned "Behemoth" version that Zuckerberg ultimately scrapped "in pursuit of something new"
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. In a July 30th memo about "personal superintelligence," Zuckerberg indicated the company would need to be "careful about what we choose to open source" due to safety concerns1
. Meta's absence from the newly formed Agentic AI Foundation—which includes AWS, OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, IBM, and Cisco—further underscores its departure from collaborative open source efforts2
.$14.3 Billion Investment Fuels AI Talent Hiring Spree
Meta invested $14.3 billion in June to hire Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang as Chief AI Officer, along with a handful of his top engineers and researchers
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. The 28-year-old entrepreneur, who favors closed models over open source, now leads TBD Lab—a siloed space near Zuckerberg's office at Meta's headquarters where the new foundational AI models are being developed3
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. Following this massive acquisition, Meta raised its 2025 capital expenditure guidance to between $70 billion and $72 billion from a prior range of $66 billion to $72 billion4
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Source: New York Post
Zuckerberg and Wang embarked on an aggressive AI talent recruitment campaign, offering pay packages worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Mark Chen, OpenAI's chief research officer, revealed that Zuckerberg went as far as delivering homemade soup to the doorsteps of some OpenAI employees to persuade them to join Meta
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. The company expects to spend $600 billion over the next few years to fund its AI ambitions3
. Zuckerberg now spends much of his time working closely with these new hires in TBD Lab, which was deliberately separated from Meta's bureaucracy1
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.Internal Conflicts and Tensions Emerge Over Priorities
The creation of Meta Superintelligence Labs has sparked internal conflicts and tensions between Wang's team and longtime executives, including Chief Product Officer Chris Cox and Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth
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. Cox and Bosworth wanted Wang's team to concentrate on using Instagram and Facebook data to train the new frontier model to improve Meta's social media feeds and advertising business. However, Wang pushed back, arguing that the goal should be to catch up to rival AI models from OpenAI and Google before focusing on products5
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Source: NYT
This us-versus-them mentality has created friction, with TBD Lab's researchers viewing many Meta executives as interested only in improving the social media business, while the lab's ambition is to create a godlike AI superintelligence
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. Bosworth was recently asked to slash $2 billion off next year's proposed budget for Reality Labs, with the money redirected to Wang's team5
. Employees have also disagreed over computing power allocation, with those working on social media ranking algorithms arguing for more resources rather than dedicating them to training AI models5
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Market Pressure and Questions About Return on Investment
Wall Street is looking for direction and a path to return on investment after Meta's stock underperformed the broader tech sector this year and badly trailed Google parent Alphabet
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. KeyBanc Capital Markets analysts noted that "Meta has been the opposite of Alphabet, where it entered the year as an AI winner and now faces more questions around investment levels and ROI"4
. The company's strategy remains scattershot according to insiders and industry experts, feeding the perception that Meta has fallen further behind its top AI rivals whose models are rapidly gaining adoption in consumer and enterprise markets4
.Brian Jackson, principal research director at Info-Tech Research Group, observed that Meta was "never interested in a truly open source model approach, just an open weights model approach"
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. The company's internal restructuring has also taken a toll, with Meta laying off several hundred workers from its Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Research (FAIR) unit, and Chief AI Scientist Yann LeCun—a proponent of open source and skeptic of LLMs—recently announcing his departure3
. Many within the company expected Avocado to be released before the end of this year, but the model is now wrestling with various training-related performance testing, pushing the timeline to first quarter 20264
.References
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