Delayed Again: "Behemoth" AI Release Postponed Until Fall - Meta's Shares Take a Hit
Meta Delays AI Model Upgrade - Stock Taking a Hit
Hey there! It looks like we were all expecting to embrace the new AI model, "Behemoth," on Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, but it's not happening just yet. You guessed it - the launch got pushed back again. And let's just say, some folks at Meta are feeling uneasy about their billion-dollar AI investments.
Word on the street is that Meta's delaying the market entry of its AI flagship, causing concerns within the company about the direction of its AI pursuits. Engineers are finding it challenging to significantly boost the language prowess of "Behemoth," which has employees questioning whether the improvements are substantial enough for a public launch. Meta's stock took a dive by 2.4% in after-hours trading as a result.
At first, "Behemoth" was set for an April release, timed with Meta's first AI developers' conference. They launched a couple of smaller models from the Llama AI family before the event, but delayed the rollout of the larger "Behemoth" from June to Fall or later.
Slowing Down on AIprogress
Remember when Meta was touted as a speedster in the global AI race? All thanks to those billions they poured into the tech fueling chatbots on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook. For 2022, Meta plans to invest a whopping $72 billion in AI, a significant chunk to help CEO Mark Zuckerberg achieve his lofty AI dreams.
As of now, neither Zuckerberg nor other Meta execs have offered a timeline for "Behemoth." They might still decide to release an early version of the AI model. But engineers are skeptical about Behemoth living up to public hype about its capabilities. A Meta spokesperson remained tight-lipped on the matter.
Officials at Meta are reportedly unhappy with the performance of the Llama-4 team and are considering an overhaul in the AI product group leadership.
- Artificial Intelligence
- Meta Platforms
- Mark Zuckerberg
- Wall Street
Insights:
- The delay in "Behemoth" stemmed from performance concerns and challenges in significantly improving its capabilities over existing models [1][2][3].
- Scaling AI models remains a significant challenge within the industry, with simply increasing size not always yielding proportional improvements in performance [3].
- The delay has led to internal concern and frustration within Meta, potentially affecting employee satisfaction and retention [4].
- The setback points to Meta's internal struggles to maintain a competitive edge in AI innovation, critical for the company's success [4].
- The postponement might exacerbate talent retention issues, as key researchers have left Meta's original Llama AI team [4].
Sources:
- ntv.de
- mpa/DJ
- In an attempt to address the challenges faced by "Behemoth," Meta could potentially seek external financial resources for further investing in technology to boost its AI capabilities.
- The delay in the launch of "Behemoth" may have put Meta's stock market performance at risk, as investors might question the company's direction in developing artificial intelligence technology.
- As Meta struggles to maintain its position in the global AI race, the consequences could extend beyond internal frustrations and employee retention, potentially impacting the company's overall strategic plans and long-term growth prospects.
