Meta delays ‘Avocado’ AI model after failing internal performance tests, report says
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Meta delays ‘Avocado’ AI model after failing internal performance tests, report says")
Meta delays Avocado AI model after failing internal performance tests
Meta has delayed the release of its new AI model Avocado after internal tests showed it failed to meet performance benchmarks against rival systems. According to reports, the model underperformed compared with Google’s Gemini 3, though it improved on earlier Meta models like Llama 4.
Meta has reportedly delayed the release of its new artificial intelligence model, codenamed Avocado, after the system failed to meet internal performance benchmarks.
According to a report by The New York Times, the company had initially planned to launch the model earlier this year. However, Meta has now pushed the rollout to at least May while engineers work to improve its performance.
The delay highlights the intense competition among major AI companies as they race to develop more powerful large language models.
Avocado falls behind rival AI models
Internal testing reportedly showed that Meta’s Avocado model struggled to match the latest systems from competitors.
According to the report, Avocado did not outperform Gemini 3, the AI model launched by Google last year. However, Avocado reportedly performed better than Gemini 2.5 and also improved upon Meta’s earlier models, such as Llama 4.
Trending Stories
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Industry analysts say these benchmark comparisons are critical because large language models compete directly on reasoning ability, coding performance and accuracy.
Meta has not publicly confirmed the exact performance scores from its internal tests.
Meta may temporarily licence Google’s AI models
The report also said that Meta executives have discussed the possibility of licensing Google’s Gemini models temporarily. This move could allow Meta to maintain the performance of its AI chatbot, Meta AI, while the company continues to develop Avocado. Meta AI is integrated across several major platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Licensing a rival model would help Meta avoid losing users to competing AI services. Such arrangements are becoming more common in the industry. For example, Apple recently announced plans to integrate Gemini into its Siri assistant.
Superintelligence Labs working on next-generation AI
Avocado is the first major model being developed by Meta’s new Superintelligence Labs (MSL) division. The unit is led by Alexandr Wang, whose startup Scale AI was acquired by Meta last year in a deal valued at about $14.5 billion.
Reports suggest Avocado is designed to focus on:
logical reasoning
software development tasks
agentic AI capabilities
Agentic systems are designed to perform multi-step tasks independently, rather than simply generating responses like traditional chatbots.
The division is also working on another AI model called Mango, which focuses on image generation.
Meta increases spending on AI infrastructure
Despite the delay, Meta continues to invest heavily in artificial intelligence development.
The company has announced plans to spend between $115 billion and $135 billion on AI infrastructure this year, including data centres, chips and computing systems needed to train advanced AI models.
Meta has also recently acquired the AI-focused social platform Moltbook, whose development team will join the Superintelligence Labs division.
The move reflects the broader strategy of expanding research into AI agents and next-generation models.
Growing competition in the AI industry
The delay of Avocado illustrates the growing pressure among technology companies competing in the AI race.
Major firms including OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic continue to release increasingly advanced models.
As these systems become more capable, companies are focusing not only on chatbots but also on AI agents capable of performing complex tasks.
For Meta, improving Avocado’s performance will be important to remain competitive in this rapidly evolving market.
