Not meeting standards, Meta’s Avocado AI model underperforms versus peers, now official launch delayed

Meta’s new frontier AI model, Avocado, has reportedly underperformed expectations and lagged competing products from Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic, according to a New York Times report.

The model’s launch has been pushed back until at least May, with Meta even discussing temporarily licensing Google’s Gemini to power some of its AI products.

The development is likely to raise fresh questions about Meta’s heavy AI spending, while highlighting Google’s advantage in AI through its combination of frontier models, chip technology, capital, infrastructure, and distribution.