Key Takeaways
- Meta Platforms has postponed “Avocado,” its upcoming flagship AI model, until May 2026 at the earliest.
- Internal benchmarks show the model performing somewhere between Google’s Gemini 2.5 and Gemini 3 releases.
- Company leadership is exploring a temporary licensing agreement with Google for Gemini AI capabilities.
- The social media giant hasn’t launched a frontier AI model since Llama 3 arrived in 2024.
- This setback emerges despite Meta’s projected 2026 capital investments reaching as high as $135 billion.
Meta Platforms faces a significant setback in its AI ambitions as its “Avocado” model misses its original timeline due to underperformance against competitors. Sources indicate the company may turn to Google’s Gemini as a stopgap solution.
Understanding Meta’s AI Model Postponement
Meta Platforms has been forced to reschedule the launch of “Avocado,” its next-generation AI system, moving the release from the current month to May at the earliest — with June remaining a possibility.
According to initial reporting from The New York Times, internal sources revealed the postponement. Reuters independently verified that testing showed the model ranking between Google’s Gemini 2.5 and Gemini 3 in capability — falling short of Meta’s competitive targets.
Meta’s most recent frontier-level AI release was Llama 3, which debuted in 2024. In the interim, competing systems from Google’s Gemini division, OpenAI’s GPT series, and Anthropic’s Claude have established stronger market positions.
While Meta did unveil two streamlined Llama 4 variants last year optimized for resource-constrained environments, the promised flagship “Behemoth” model has yet to materialize, with no official updates provided.
A company representative stated: “As we’ve said publicly, our next model will be good, but more importantly, show the rapid trajectory we’re on, and then we’ll steadily push the frontier over the course of the year as we continue to release new models.” They continued: “We’re excited for people to see what we’ve been cooking very soon.”
Meta stock experienced approximately 2% losses during Friday’s opening session.
Is a Google AI Licensing Deal on the Table?
Perhaps most notably, executives within Meta’s artificial intelligence teams have reportedly explored the possibility of securing a temporary licensing arrangement with Google’s Gemini platform to maintain product functionality during Avocado’s development. While no final determination has been reached, the discussions are reportedly active.
Such a move would represent a significant concession for CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who has poured substantial resources into the Superintelligence Labs initiative, assembling an elite team of AI researchers and engineers. The company has outlined capital expenditure projections between $115 billion and $135 billion for 2026, with AI infrastructure representing a major focus.
A licensing agreement with Gemini would essentially grant Alphabet a high-profile victory — transforming its public image from AI follower to a provider that competitors depend upon.
Meta has already extracted tangible value from AI applications — enhanced advertising precision, refined content recommendation algorithms, and proprietary silicon for recommendation systems. The company also maintains market leadership in smart eyewear.
However, Zuckerberg has articulated his vision of creating a “personal superintelligence” — a Meta-owned platform that could potentially rival Apple and other mobile ecosystems as the primary everyday computing interface. Achieving this objective demands proprietary AI superiority, not dependence on external licenses.
For the immediate future, the Avocado postponement dominates the narrative. Meta stock experienced roughly 2% declines as Friday trading commenced.
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