META Platforms is considering partnerships with rivals Google or OpenAI to enhance artificial intelligence (AI) features in its applications, The Information reported on Friday (Aug 29), citing people familiar with the conversations.
Leaders at Meta’s new AI organisation, Meta Superintelligence Labs, have explored integrating Google’s Gemini model to deliver conversational, text-based responses for queries submitted to Meta AI, the company’s primary chatbot, the report said.
Discussions have included leveraging OpenAI’s models to power Meta AI and other AI features in Meta’s social media apps, the Information added. Any deals with external model providers such as Google or OpenAI are likely temporary steps to enhance Meta’s AI products until its own models advance, the report said. A priority for the lab is ensuring its next-generation model, Llama 5, can compete with rivals, it added.
Inside Meta, the company has already integrated external AI models into some internal tools for staff, The Information reported. For instance, employees can use Anthropic models to code via the company’s internal coding assistant, the report added, citing three people familiar with the matter.
“We are taking an all-of-the-above approach to building the best AI products; and that includes building world-leading models ourselves, partnering with companies, as well as open sourcing technology,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement. OpenAI, Google and Microsoft, which backs OpenAI, did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
Earlier this year, Meta committed billions of dollars to bring on former Scale AI chief executive officer Alexandr Wang and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman to co-lead Meta Superintelligence Labs, while offering generous compensation packages to attract dozens of leading AI researchers to the initiative. REUTERS
