Meta keeps delaying the release of its new AI model to developers

Meta Platforms has delayed plans to release its newest artificial intelligence model to developers multiple times and as of Tuesday didn’t have a planned date to release it, according to people familiar with the matter.

- Meghan Bobrowsky

The delay, stretching nearly two months after the company’s AI chief told developers to expect a release “soon,” raises questions about how quickly Meta can monetize its massive investments in building its own frontier AI models.

The company has been developing an application programming interface, or API, a software tool that allows different programs to talk to each other. Meta’s API would allow apps written for computers or mobile phones to be based on Meta’s AI technology.

In response to questions from The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, a Meta spokesman said the company was testing the API with partners and planned to release it this month. “We know people want the API and we’re excited to get it into their hands,” the spokesman said.

For so-called closed AI models, meaning models that are kept proprietary and not publicly available for download, the only way for developers to access them is via API. Companies typically release an API alongside a new model, or within a few weeks of releasing it, to maximize its relevance among developers.