Meta’s AI Spending Suddenly Makes Sense

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is drawing growing attention around its consumer AI strategy as Muse strengthens the company’s push into personal AI assistants and raises comparisons with rivals including Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), OpenAI and Anthropic. LightShed Partners co-founder Rich Greenfield and Constellation Research Chairman Ray Wang see Meta building a stronger position in consumer AI by combining Muse with its massive user base, software ecosystem and growing hardware ambitions. Greenfield Sees Muse As Meta’s AI Breakthrough Greenfield told CNBC on Thursday that Meta now has "a true right to win in AI" because success will depend on more than building the best model. He argued that Meta’s strength lies in creating the software platform that brings AI into products consumers already use every day. Meta’s massive AI spending is starting to look less like an open-ended infrastructure bet and more like a consumer growth strategy. Greenfield said Meta now has a tangible AI product in Muse and a built-in distribution network. He pointed to Meta’s roughly 3 billion users across WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook as a major distribution advantage. Greenfield said Muse gives investors a clearer reason for Meta’s heavy AI spending and could change how the market values that investment over the next year. He said Meta’s massive AI investment is beginning to look more justified, arguing that "all of this spending, the massive amount of capital investment and spending, actually has a reason and a real consumer product." LightShed also set a $925 one-year price target on Meta. Greenfield sees Muse itself, rather than Meta’s new hardware, as the bigger opportunity. He said the company is betting on an agentic personal assistant that can work across phones, computers, glasses and other devices while learning about users and completing tasks for them. See More: Top Value Stocks Wang Sees AI, Hardware And Data Working Together Wang told CNBC on Thursday that Meta has successfully combined AI, hardware and data, with Muse providing the software layer and products such as smart glasses serving as one of several possible interfaces. He sees Meta’s 3.6 billion-user base as a major competitive moat, giving the company enormous reach if it integrates Muse across its existing platforms. However, Wang also identified Apple as a formidable rival. He estimated Apple’s ecosystem at about 1.4 billion users and said consumers may trust Apple more than Meta when it comes to devices. Wang also highlighted Apple’s different approach to AI, centered on more computing directly on devices rather than relying as heavily on large infrastructure investments. He said Apple’s security and device ecosystem remain important strengths even though Siri currently trails newer AI assistants. Meta Faces OpenAI, Anthropic And Apple Greenfield said Meta does not need to prove Muse is already the best AI product. Instead, he sees an opportunity for Meta to use its distribution and consumer software expertise to compete with OpenAI, Anthropic and Apple. He pointed to Anthropic’s rapid rise with Claude as evidence that competitive positions in AI can change quickly. Greenfield believes Muse has started moving Meta from an overlooked AI player toward a more credible consumer AI competitor. Top ETF Exposure Invesco AI and Next Gen Software ETF (NYSE:IGPT): 8.43% Weight Natixis Loomis Sayles Focused Growth ETF (NYSE:LSGR): 8.12% Weight Invesco Nasdaq Internet ETF (NASDAQ:PNQI): 7.89% Weight Significance: Because META carries such a heavy weight in these funds, any significant inflows or outflows for these ETFs will likely force automatic buying or selling of the stock. Meta Price Action META Price Action: Meta Platforms shares were up 0.31% at $780.01 during premarket trading on Friday. The stock is trading at a new 52-week high, according to Benzinga Pro data. Photo via Shutterstock Read Also: Meta’s AI Strategy Runs From Hearing Aids to a $1,299 Cinema: JPMorgan Sees a Giant Market