Meta could launch a new AI model early next year to take on Gemini and ChatGPT: here's what we know

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg made quite the waves earlier in the year when he created a Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL) unit while taking away top talents from the likes of OpenAI, Google and Anthropic. The new lab was reportedly set up after Zuckerberg wasn't satisfied with the output from existing Llama models that powered Meta AI and to push towards superintelligence, a hypothetical stage where AI reaches the same level of abilities on most tasks as humans.

While there has been no update from Meta about the progress on its AI models, Zuckerberg was seemingly so impressed with what his team was working on that he predicted in July that future Llama models would “most advanced in the industry” and “bring the benefits of AI to everyone.”

When are new Meta AI models arriving?

While Google, OpenAI, Anthropic and others battle for supremacy in the increasingly compeitive AI landscape, there has been no sight of the new Llama models so far. However, as per a new report by CNBC, Meta is pursuing a new AI model codenmaed Avocado.

The report states that many people within the company were expecting the new model to arrive before the end of the year but that plan has now been delayed to the first quarter of 2026.

Reportedly, the new model is ‘wrestling with various training-related performance testing’ that is intended to make sure that it is received well when it eventually debuts.

“Our model training efforts are going according to plan and have had no meaningful timing changes,” a Meta spokesperson told the publication

Meta's new AI model could be closed source:

While Zuckerberg has been a big advocate of open-source models in the past, the 41 year old techie has slowly been changing tune in the last few months.

“We’ll need to be rigorous about mitigating these risks and careful about what we choose to open source.” he said in July

It seems like Meta could in for a u-turn in the open-source department with the new report claiming that the Avocado model could be a proprietary one, similar to Gemini and ChatGPT, meaning developers would not be able to freely downloads its weights and check related softare components.

Meanwhile, Zuckerberg has been optimistic about the new AI models from Meta. During the company's earning call earlier in the year, he said, “We’re heads down developing our next generation of models and products and I’m looking forward to sharing more on that front over the coming months.”