Meta released a new version of Muse Spark on Thursday, claiming that the AI model surpasses the capabilities of prior products from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.
Dubbed Muse Spark 1.1, the new model is proficient across a range of tasks, including coding, video captioning, and reasoning, Meta said in a blog post. The update to Muse Spark beats out Google’s latest release of Gemini in benchmarks measuring coding and reasoning capabilities, according to the tech giant. And Meta’s new AI entry surpasses older versions of OpenAI and Anthropic’s models on some verticals, the company said.
“Our focus is on delivering strong agentic and multimodal models at very low cost,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s cofounder and CEO, in a post on X. “More to come soon.”
The tech giant did not say how its new AI product compares to OpenAI and Anthropic’s most recent model releases. On one coding metric, for example, the model still lags behind the flagship entries—Anthropic’s Mythos 5 and Fable 5, and OpenAI’s GPT-5.6—according to a leaderboard ranking performances on an open-source benchmark.
In the past, the company has also confronted accusations that it manipulated results on tests for a prior AI model release. “We’ve also heard claims that we trained on test sets—that’s simply not true and we would never do that,” a former Meta AI executive said on X in response to allegations in April 2025.
Superintelligence Labs
The release of Muse Spark 1.1 comes just three months after Meta unveiled its first significant entry into the AI race under a reorganized unit headed by Alexandr Wang, Meta’s first-ever chief AI officer.
Originally committed to building open-source models, the tech giant pivoted after it spent $14.3 billion in 2025 to acquire a 49% non-voting stake in Scale AI, Wang’s AI data startup that skyrocketed in prominence amid the AI boom.
Wang reorganized the company’s AI efforts into what it now calls Meta Superintelligence Labs. The organizational changes weren’t without drama. Staffers felt whiplashed as Wang and Zuckerberg rebuilt the company’s AI team from the ground up. Zuckerberg also created an Applied AI unit in March, which pulled in engineers and developers to help on what some saw as mind-numbing data collection tasks.
Still, Meta’s efforts to catch up to OpenAI and Anthropic appear to be accelerating. Muse Spark now powers Meta’s AI assistant in its Meta AI app and developers can access the newest version of the model via an API. On Tuesday, Meta also released Muse Image and Muse Video, the first models released from Superintelligence Labs focused on image and video generation.
The new visual AI models produced impressive results. But Meta’s decision to allow users to apply AI-powered image generation and editing effects to photos that other people had posted to their public-facing Instagram accounts without requiring any explicit permission to do so, sparked outrage from many Instagram users.
Muse Spark 1.1 is now in public preview. Meta did not say when it would fully release the model, but Zuckerberg did state that the model will be lower cost with “aggressive pricing” compared to competing products from OpenAI and Anthropic.
Meta recently launched Muse Spark 1.1, a new AI model that it claims outperforms previous products from competitors such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. This announcement was made through a blog post on Thursday, where Meta highlighted the model’s capabilities across various tasks, including coding, video captioning, and reasoning. According to the company, Muse Spark 1.1 surpassed Google’s Gemini in benchmarks related to coding and reasoning, and it also performed better than older versions of OpenAI and Anthropic models in certain areas.
Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s co-founder and CEO, emphasized the company’s commitment to developing powerful, agentic multimodal models at a lower cost in a post on X. Despite these claims, Meta did not provide specific comparisons to the most recent models from OpenAI and Anthropic, and on one coding metric, Muse Spark 1.1 was reported to lag behind flagship models such as Anthropic’s Mythos 5 and Fable 5, and OpenAI’s GPT-5.6, according to an open-source benchmark leaderboard.
In the past, Meta has faced scrutiny over the integrity of its AI model testing. A former executive publicly denied allegations of manipulating test results for previous AI models, reaffirming the company’s commitment to ethical practices.
The release of Muse Spark 1.1 marks a significant step for Meta, occurring just three months after the company established a new unit led by Alexandr Wang, its first chief AI officer, aimed at enhancing its position in the competitive AI landscape. Initially focused on open-source models, Meta shifted its strategy after investing $14.3 billion in 2025 to acquire a 49% non-voting stake in Scale AI, a data startup that gained prominence during the AI surge.
Under Wang’s leadership, Meta reorganized its AI initiatives into Meta Superintelligence Labs, which involved substantial restructuring and resource reallocation. This transformation created some internal tension as staff adapted to new roles and responsibilities. Zuckerberg also initiated the creation of an Applied AI unit earlier in March, which aimed to attract engineers and developers to assist with what some employees perceived as tedious data collection tasks.
Meta’s advancements in AI technology have been swift. Muse Spark now serves as the backbone for the company’s AI assistant within the Meta AI app, and developers can access the latest version of the model through an API. In addition to Muse Spark, Meta recently introduced Muse Image and Muse Video—its first models focused on image and video generation, respectively. While the new visual AI models have shown promising results, Meta faced backlash when it allowed users to utilize AI-driven image generation and editing on publicly posted Instagram photos without seeking permissions from the original posters.
Currently, Muse Spark 1.1 is available for public preview, although Meta has not disclosed a timeline for its full release. However, Zuckerberg indicated that the model would be offered at a competitive price point, featuring “aggressive pricing” compared to offerings from OpenAI and Anthropic.
In summary, Meta’s Muse Spark 1.1 represents an ambitious effort to enhance its AI capabilities and compete with industry leaders. With its focus on multimodal functions and cost-effective solutions, Meta aims to carve out a significant presence in the evolving AI market, despite facing challenges related to performance benchmarks and ethical scrutiny.
