Meta has been behind in AI for over a year. On Wednesday, it made its best move yet to catch up.
The firm released Muse Spark - its first big AI model since hiring Alexandr Wang nine months ago for a $14.3 billion deal with Scale AI. Wang now runs Meta's AI labs, the team that built the model from the start.
Meta isn't saying this is the top model. It's built to be fast, small, and lean. It can answer science, math, and health questions using way less power than old Llama models.
The model runs the Meta AI helper in the app and web site. It's coming to Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Ray-Ban glasses in weeks.
For hard questions, a "Thinking" mode uses a team of AI agents working at the same time. Meta says that can match top tools from Google and OpenAI.
Meta is also testing a new way to make money. Select partners can use Muse Spark's tech through a private API view, with paid use later.
That's a big shift. Meta's old way was open - free Llama models. Muse Spark is closed. But the firm said it hopes to open future ones.
Meta's stock climbed nearly 9% on Wednesday. Part of that was the ceasefire rally lifting all boats. But the AI announcement gave investors something new to price in.
Meta's AI spending for 2026 will be $115 - $135 billion - almost double last year. OpenAI and Anthropic are both worth over $1 trillion. Google's Gemini is gaining ground.
The AI race is pricey. Meta just showed it's still in it.
