Meta’s AI chief says new Muse Spark update will sharpen coding, agentic AI

05/07 08:15 - Meta’s AI chief says new Muse Spark update will sharpen coding, agentic AI
Meta is set to launch a new Muse Spark model with stronger coding and agentic capabilities, as Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang touted the update as a step toward closing the gap with rival AI platforms and expanding the company’s enterprise AI ambitions. “..Our next Muse Spark update is coming soon. Big improvements in coding and agentic capabilities to be more competitive with other leading models,” Wang wrote in a post on X in an attempt to clarify CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s comments about the slow progress in AI agent development made during a company townhall. In the same townhall, Wang said that the next Muse Spark update, codenamed Watermelon, which uses far more compute than its predecessor, has already caught up with OpenAI’s flagship GPT 5.5 model, according to a Business Insider report that cited anonymous sources. What the update means for enterprises The stronger coding and agentic capabilities in Watermelon, according to Pareekh Jain, principal analyst at Pareekh Consulting, could benefit enterprises. “A strong Meta model would increase competition, lower AI costs, and give enterprises another alternative to OpenAI and Anthropic,” Jain said. “If offered as an open-weight or low-cost model, it could make AI coding assistants more affordable while improving data control and reducing vendor lock-in,” Jain added. The analyst was referring to a broader shift in enterprise software development, where wider adoption of AI coding assistants has coincided with mounting cost and availability pressures, as GPU shortages, high model licensing fees, and inference costs make access to the most capable coding models increasingly expensive. The timing of the Muse Spark update and Meta’s recent acquisitions, including its efforts to acquire Manus, has fueled speculation that Meta might introduce its own AI-assisted application development platform or vibe coding tool. “It seems, especially with these updates, Meta wants to move beyond foundation models and become a platform for building AI-native applications and agents,” said Charlie Dai, principal analyst at Forrester. “While the status of Manus remains uncertain due to reported regulatory challenges, initiatives such as Pocket, although consumer-facing, indicate Meta’s interest in lowering the barriers to creating AI-native software. The more important opportunity, however, is enterprise adoption: enabling business users to build workflow automations, agents, and lightweight applications with less technical expertise,” Dai added. The analyst’s comments also align with Meta’s broader push into the enterprise AI market. Meta is reportedly developing plans for new cloud infrastructure business lines that would sell access to AI computing power and models. Enterprise opportunity comes with execution hurdles However, enterprise adoption might not come easy for Meta, analysts cautioned. “Meta must prove superior real-world coding quality, reliable agent execution, strong security and governance, and a vibrant developer ecosystem,” Dai said. “In addition, outside North America, geopolitical and regulatory considerations are increasingly shaping model choices and creating opportunities for alternatives. Meta needs compelling customer outcomes, strong local partnerships, and sustained innovation that resonates with developers and enterprises,” Dai added. The new model, according to Wang, will be rolled out soon via Meta AI and a new API. The article originally appeared on InfoWorld. ...