Meta launches Muse Wonder AI models to rival OpenAI, Anthropic

What it costs: Muse app users will need a $20 or $100 monthly plan to get the new model, CNBC reported, and Muse Wonder Full is limited to Muse Code plans at $50 or $200 a month. Meta AI chief Alexandr Wang told CNBC the API version will cost more than the standard plans because it is a "much larger model and at frontier level," but will be priced "meaningfully below" leading models from OpenAI and Anthropic.

What Meta claims: Meta says the new models can rival OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra and Anthropic's Claude Opus 5.5 and Claude Fable 5.1, citing its own internal testing on several industry benchmarks, The Verge reported. Meta highlights two features: Active Memory, which carries details across conversations, and Active Focus, which keeps working toward a goal when a task gets hard and checks in before doing anything important. Wang told CNBC the model, codenamed Watermelon, was trained "to try other approaches instead of stalling." Meta says the models were trained at its gigawatt-scale Prometheus data center.

Privacy and safety: Meta says it trained the Muse Wonder family to avoid sharing private information without permission and to refuse harmful requests, and that a full report with more safety evaluations "will be available soon." Some Muse users have complained on social media that the agent read personal messages without authorization, which Meta disputes. Wang told CNBC that some users may have authorized communications earlier in a conversation and forgotten.

Market reaction: Meta shares rose about 4% in afternoon trading Monday, Reuters reported. The launch follows a year in which CEO Mark Zuckerberg pledged billions of dollars and aggressively recruited researchers to catch up in the AI race.

Timeline: Meta says it began overhauling its AI work 14 months ago and first released Muse Spark, the model these build on. Last month it launched the Muse agent app, which rose to the top of Apple's App Store, CNBC reported. On Sept. 23 at its Connect event, Zuckerberg showed the Muse Charm device. On Oct. 12 came Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full.

What's still unknown: Independent benchmark results; the full safety report Meta has promised; the API's per-use prices; and when Muse Wonder reaches the Muse app or free users. The Verge noted Meta gave no specifics or timeline for either.

Model names, availability, features and safety language come from Meta's Oct. 12 newsroom post and research blog. Pricing and Alexandr Wang's quotes come from CNBC's Oct. 12 interview. Comparisons with OpenAI and Anthropic models are Meta's claims based on its own internal benchmark testing, as The Verge reported; US Brief has not seen independent results. The share move is from Reuters' afternoon report and may differ from the closing price. Meta has not given a date for Muse Wonder reaching the Muse app.