Meta Considers Ditching Open-Source Behemoth for Proprietary AI Model—What’s at Stake?
Meta’s rumored pivot from open-source AI to a walled-garden approach could reshape the tech landscape—and its stock price.
Why the shift? The company’s ‘Behemoth’ model once championed transparency, but insiders hint at competitive pressures and monetization roadblocks. Closed models mean tighter control—and potentially fatter margins.
Silicon Valley’s open-source advocates are already howling. Meanwhile, investors are salivating over the prospect of another revenue stream—because nothing pumps a valuation like artificial scarcity.
One thing’s certain: If Meta locks this tech down, it won’t be for the ‘metaverse’—it’ll be for the money. (Cue shocked gasps from finance bros who just realized corporations exist to turn a profit.)
Meta’s new lab is under scrutiny after several AI missteps
Meta has dealt with management problems, seen key staff depart, and launched products that didn’t catch on. Zuckerberg still wants to build an AI that achieves superintelligence, something some describe as beyond human thinking.
To staff the initiative, Zuckerberg initiated an aggressive recruitment campaign, offering nine‑figure compensation proposals to lure leading researchers from OpenAI, Google, Apple, Anthropic, and others. Moreover, he reassigned the executive formerly in charge of Meta’s generative AI division.
In June, Meta poured $14.3 billion into Scale AI, the company founded and helmed by Alexandr Wang. The deal granted Meta a 49 % equity share, and Wang, together with some of his key associates, transitioned into senior posts within Meta.
Following the investment, Meta rebranded its AI arm as “Meta Superintelligence Labs,” with Wang stepping into the role of chief AI officer. He now leads an elite cohort of about a dozen recent hires, several Scale AI deputies, and Nat Friedman, ex‑CEO of GitHub.
Sources indicate that numerous members of Wang’s group gathered at Meta’s Menlo Park headquarters for their inaugural in‑person meeting last week. They occupy a secluded office suite adjacent to Zuckerberg’s workspace.
On Tuesday, Wang held a Q&A with about 2,000 AI team members. He said his Core team’s work would stay private and that everyone in the AI division would now focus on building superintelligence.
Looking forward, some AI employees anticipate that the upcoming vesting window in August, which will allow certain staff to liquidate company shares. It could trigger a wave of departures among those not selected for the superintelligence group.
On Monday, Zuckerberg unveiled intentions to commit hundreds of billions of dollars toward AI compute infrastructure, aiming to have Meta’s inaugural supercluster operational by next year.
In a Facebook update, Zuckerberg stated, “Meta Superintelligence Labs will have industry‑leading levels of compute and by far the greatest compute per researcher. I’m looking forward to working with the top researchers to advance the frontier!”
He called the first supercluster “Prometheus” and disclosed plans for additional multi‑gigawatt installations, such as “Hyperion,” projected to reach five gigawatts over the next few years.
Zuckerberg’s moves show he’s frustrated with how slowly Meta’s AI is progressing. After the underweheling response to Llama 4 in April, he is taking a different road to better compete with OpenAI and Google. “For our superintelligence effort, I’m focused on building the most elite and talent‑dense team in the industry,” he added, marking the start of a new phase in Meta’s AI endeavors.
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