Meta hired Alexandr Wang to run its Superintelligence Labs in 2025.
Meta could spend up to $145 billion on AI investments in 2026 alone.
'
It wasn't that long ago that Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg recognized his company's artificial intelligence strategy was falling well short of where it needed to be. Immense spending and a lackluster Llama 4 model were the catalyst for Meta to reinvent itself and its approach to AI development.
Zuckerberg then hired wunderkind Alexandr Wang in mid-2025 to run Meta Superintelligence Labs. Since then, the company has not only caught up in the AI race, but may have pulled ahead this week. The 27-year-old Wang is proving to be a smart bet who will keep Meta at the forefront of AI model development. This past spring, Meta launched Muse Spark and has been rapidly releasing updates since.
Missed AI’s "Act 1"? Act 2 Could Be 15x Bigger. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn't buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our analysts, we’re only at the end of "Act 1"—the R&D phase. "Act 2" is the global rollout. Continue »
This month, Meta released a personal agent called Muse, which quickly gained traction online and shot up to No. 1 in Apple's app store. The Muse agent is supposed to be extremely easy to use, even for the most nontechnical among us. The goal is for the personal agent to help with everyday tasks such as sending emails and booking travel.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Meta's expected $145 billion in capital expenditures hasn't yet been fully justified, but the company is getting closer. There will continue to be volatility as the race to develop AI is hotly contested. Still, Meta has once again shown it can regain relevance and dominance even after falling significantly behind.
Meta's AI comeback has been the catalyst behind the stock's rebound. Shares of Meta are now up more than 16% year to date. This is just the latest example of why shareholders shouldn't doubt that Zuckerberg will find a way to win in the long term. As long as Wang is running the Superintelligence Lab, I'm bullish on Meta.
Catie Hogan has positions in Apple. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple and Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.