Meta Takes a Major New Approach to AI. What It Means for Investors.

Meta (META) is making a major change in its AI strategy. In fact, earlier this month, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta would make some of its most powerful AI models available to the public. The company will also introduce a new AI model designed to run directly on laptops and other personal devices.

Unlike OpenAI and Anthropic, whose models remain closed-weight, Meta has taken a more open approach to releasing some of its AI models. Meta makes some models available as open-weight systems, allowing developers to download, modify, and run them independently rather than accessing them only through Meta’s services. This approach could help Meta attract developers and businesses to its AI ecosystem and encourage them to build on its technology. This is different from companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, which typically provide their most advanced AI models through their own services.

Zuckerberg Believes This Could Help Meta Become a Leader in Open-Source AI

One of Meta’s latest announcements is the release of the weights for Muse Spark 1.2, the company’s newest advanced AI model. Those “weights” are the numerical values a model learns during training that shape how it processes information and generates responses. By making the weights available, Meta allows developers to download and run the model themselves rather than accessing it only through Meta’s online services.

Meta is also introducing a new group of AI models called Muse Glimmer. Unlike larger AI models that need powerful data centers, Muse Glimmer is designed to run certain AI tasks directly on a personal computer. This could make some AI features faster and cheaper by reducing the need to send information to remote servers.

Why Meta Is Choosing Open-Weight AI Models

Meanwhile, several Chinese companies, including Alibaba (BABA), DeepSeek, and Moonshot, have released open-weight AI models that developers can download, customize, and run themselves. Zuckerberg argues that this could give Chinese companies an advantage because U.S. AI developers face greater restrictions in areas such as the use of training data. In a 6,500-word essay, titled “The Future is for Everyone,” Zuckerberg calls on the U.S. government to reconsider some of those restrictive rules.

As quoted by CNBC, Zuckerberg said, “Foreign labs currently hold several advantages here since American labs have to comply with many additional restrictions on training data. US policy must reduce this additional friction if we want American open source models to lead over time. I do not believe restricting access to foreign open source models is an effective solution. Our goal should be for American open source models to be the best globally. This requires removing the hurdles that make it harder for American open source models to compete.”

If the restrictions are not lifted, there’s fear that tech giants could just use Chinese open-weight models, which Meta is attempting to help with its weights.

What It Could Mean for Everyday Users

Meta's strategy could eventually affect how people use AI every day. If smaller AI models can run directly on laptops and phones, people could get faster AI features without relying as much on expensive cloud servers. Developers could also create new applications using Meta's open models.

In addition, Zuckerberg wants Meta to make powerful AI widely available rather than keeping it behind a wall controlled by a handful of companies. He believes this approach could give individuals more power to use AI for work, creativity, and personal goals. For now, Meta is betting that openness will be its advantage. Instead of trying only to beat OpenAI and Anthropic at their own game, Meta is trying to change the game itself: give developers powerful AI they can download and build with, while putting smaller AI models directly into the devices people already use. 

What Do Analysts Say About META Stock?

Of the 55 analysts covering META stock, 45 have a “Strong Buy” rating, two have a “Moderate Buy” rating, and eight have a “Hold” rating. Overall, Meta has a consensus “Strong Buy” rating. The mean target price of $750.37 implies a potential upside of 30% from current levels. Meanwhile, the high price target of $1,000 implies as much as 73% possible growth from here.