META: Meta Stock Rises 3.4% as Zuckerberg Claims AI Frontier, Flexes New Model

Watermelon project has produced Meta’s most advanced models yet. Zuck wants to keep it moving.

🍉 Watermelon arrives as Muse Wonder

• Meta META climbed 3.4% to $742.96 Monday, ending four consecutive losing sessions and outperforming a declining Nasdaq.
• The catalyst was the launch of Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full, giving investors fresh evidence of progress from Zuck’s expensive overhaul of the company’s AI business.
• Watermelon was the internal codename for the new model family. It follows Muse Spark, previously known as Avocado.
• Meta says the models can handle complex tasks involving coding, legal documents, finances and insurance claims. Its Active Memory feature carries relevant information between conversations, while Active Focus aims to help agents work through obstacles and recover from errors.

🚀 Zuckerberg rejects calls to slow down

• Zuckerberg told the Financial Times that Meta has caught up with rivals at the AI “frontier”, arguing Muse Wonder enables more sophisticated behavior. Frontier describes the industry’s most capable systems, although Meta’s claims still need to be tested against users’ experience.
• The FT also says that the CEO rejected calls to slow development and committed to further big spending to challenge OpenAI and Anthropic.
• Meta says it evaluates releases under its Superintelligence Scaling Framework, with safeguards covering private information and misuse. Additional safety evaluations are due in a forthcoming report.
• As agents gain access to messages, calendars and documents, reliability and permission controls become part of the product’s commercial appeal.

💵 The next test is adoption and returns

• The Wall Street Journal reported that Muse has attracted nearly nine million downloads, but download growth is slowing and its 14-day retention trails ChatGPT’s.
• Retention measures whether people keep returning after trying an app. Better models could help, but download totals alone do not establish durable demand or subscription revenue.
• The financial stakes remain substantial: Meta’s 2026 capital expenditure guidance stands at $130 billion to $145 billion, including finance-lease principal payments.