Meta’s next major AI model ‘Avocado’ delayed to early 2026

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s new AI unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs, is developing an advanced AI model codenamed Avocado, aiming for human-level intelligence, but internal challenges have pushed its launch to early 2026.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s ambitious AI strategy continues to evolve with the creation of Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL), a unit formed earlier this year by recruiting top AI talent from OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic. The lab was reportedly launched after Zuckerberg expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of existing Llama models that power Meta AI, signaling the company’s intent to develop superintelligent AI capable of human-level tasks across diverse domains.

Zuckerberg has publicly highlighted his optimism about Meta’s AI future, stating that upcoming Llama models would “be the most advanced in the industry” and would “bring the benefits of AI to everyone.” Despite this, there has been little public progress on Llama updates, fuelling curiosity about Meta’s next major AI release. According to reports, the company is now working on a new model codenamed Avocado, initially expected before the end of 2025 but now reportedly delayed to the first quarter of 2026. Internal sources suggest the delay is due to ongoing training and performance-testing challenges, aimed at ensuring a smooth debut.

Shift from open source to proprietary AI

Zuckerberg, historically a proponent of open-source AI, has gradually modified his stance over recent months. He emphasized the need for caution, stating in July, “We’ll need to be rigorous about mitigating these risks and careful about what we choose to open source.” Reports indicate that Avocado may follow a proprietary approach, similar to Google’s Gemini or OpenAI’s ChatGPT, meaning developers may not have access to model weights or software components.

Talent and future outlook

Meta maintains confidence in its AI talent pool. During an earnings call, Zuckerberg highlighted that MSL has “the highest talent density in the industry” and that the team is “heads down developing our next generation of models and products.” With Avocado’s development underway, Meta continues to position itself as a formidable competitor in the race toward advanced AI, balancing innovation with careful oversight to mitigate potential risks.