Meta's new generation AI model will be partially open-source and partially closed-source, adopting a hybrid strategy.

According to monitoring by 1M AI News, Meta is preparing to release a new generation of AI models led by Alexandr Wang, and plans to provide open-source versions of some of the models. Wang joined Meta last year through a deal worth $15 billion from AI data infrastructure company Scale AI; prior to that, he served as CEO of Scale AI.

Previously, there were times when external observers speculated that Meta might completely abandon its open-source route, but according to a report by Axios citing insiders, Wang believes Meta can play a unique role in popularizing the latest AI technology and ensure that developers have a U.S.-made open-source option available. However, Meta’s largest-scale new model will remain closed-source, marking the company’s shift from its previous fully open-source approach to a hybrid strategy of running open-source and closed-source in parallel.

Wang’s approach is to compete through differentiation: as Anthropic and OpenAI increasingly focus on government and enterprise customers, Meta is targeting the consumer market, aiming to get the models distributed to as broad a range of users around the world as possible. Meta’s advantage lies in the global coverage of its three free platforms—WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram—which are distribution channels that competitors find difficult to match.

Meta acknowledges that its new models may not comprehensively hold their own against the next-generation models that OpenAI and Anthropic are set to roll out across all dimensions, but it believes they will have their own competitive strength in consumer scenarios. Previously, the Llama 4 series performed clearly behind competing products, and the primary goal of the new model series is to narrow the gap.

The pullback in the open-source camp is not limited to Meta alone. Alibaba has also recently converted its strongest new Qianwen model to closed-source, reversing its prior strategy of fully opening up. The industry is forming a consensus: even the companies most committed to openness still retain control over the most powerful systems.