Meta's Strategic Pivot: From Open Source to Closed-Source AI—The Avocado Play Explained

After pumping tens of billions into assembling what’s arguably the most elite tech team ever assembled, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is now hands-on in steering the company’s entire AI direction toward commercially viable, proprietary models. The most telling sign? A forthcoming model internally called “Avocado” set to roll out spring 2026—and it’s coming as a closed-source product, a dramatic reversal of Meta’s historical commitment to open-source AI development.

The Avocado Launch and What It Signals

Avocado represents a watershed moment for Meta’s AI strategy. Rather than freely releasing models to the public, Meta plans to monetize Avocado directly by controlling access and charging for its use—a complete 180 from the company’s previous approach. What’s particularly notable is that during Avocado’s development, Meta’s core research division (dubbed TBD Lab) actually incorporated third-party models from Google Gemma, OpenAI’s offerings, and Alibaba Qwen into the training process. This hybrid approach suggests Meta is willing to leverage existing ecosystem resources while building something proprietary enough to command market prices.

Where the Money’s Going: The Bigger Picture

Zuckerberg isn’t just talking about Avocado—he’s backing it with massive capital reallocation. Meta is aggressively cutting funding from metaverse and VR initiatives, shifting resources instead toward AI infrastructure and hardware (like AI-enabled glasses). The headline figure: $600 billion earmarked for U.S. AI infrastructure over the next three years. This isn’t just investment; it’s a complete organizational reset signaling where Meta believes future value lies.

Why This Matters

The shift from open-source to closed-source fundamentally changes Meta’s business model in AI. Open-source models democratized AI but didn’t directly generate revenue. Avocado flips that script—it’s built to be a profit center. By launch time in spring 2026, expect to see Meta competing directly with OpenAI, Anthropic, and other proprietary AI providers, not just contributing to the broader ecosystem. Zuckerberg’s hands-on involvement with TBD Lab underscores how critical this pivot is to Meta’s future.