Meta working on a new image and video model for a 2026 release

Meta is reportedly developing a new image and video model for a 2026 release. The Facebook and Instagram parent company is said to be developing the new AI models under its superintelligence lab led by Scale AI co-founder, Alexandr Wang. Meta is working on the image and video model codenamed “Mango” along with a new text-based model internally known as “Avocado”. The tech giant plans to release the new models in the first half of 2026.

Meta aims to make the text-based model better at coding while also exploring new world models that understand visual information and can reason, plan, and act without needing to be trained on every possibility.

Meta has more recently fallen behind its rivals, like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, in the AI race. The company’s AI division saw significant restructurings this year, which included leadership changes and the poaching of researchers from other top companies. However, several of the researchers who joined Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL) have already left the company.

Last month, the company’s chief AI scientist, Yann LeCun, also announced that he’s leaving to create his own startup.

Meta has yet to produce a breakout AI product. The usage figures for its Meta AI assistant are largely driven by the company’s massive social platforms, where the assistant is embedded directly into app search bars reaching billions of users.

As a result, the initial projects and models emerging from MSL will carry significant expectations.