Meta Releases Open-Weight AI Model called Muse Glimmer

Meta has released a new open-weight AI model as CEO Mark Zuckerberg urges the U.S. to reduce barriers for domestic developers.

The model, Muse Glimmer, can be downloaded and modified by developers. It is designed for agentic tasks and can run on a Mac or PC with a single graphics card.

Meta said it plans to release more open-weight models in the coming months. The company is also preparing a more powerful model, internally known as Watermelon.

The release comes at a time when competition between U.S. and Chinese AI developers continues to grow. Chinese firms such as Moonshot, Alibaba and DeepSeek have released powerful open-weight models at relatively low costs.

Zuckerberg argued that the U.S. needs to rethink its policies if American companies are to lead this market.

“U.S. policy must reduce this additional friction if we want American open source models to lead over time,” Zuckerberg said.

He also opposed restricting access to foreign open-weight models. Instead, he called for policies that would help U.S. companies compete more effectively.

Meta’s position puts it on the opposite side of an ongoing debate with companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic. Those companies have pushed for stronger controls around advanced AI systems.

Meanwhile, open-weight models are gaining attention among businesses seeking cheaper AI options. They also offer greater flexibility because developers can customise the models for specific uses.

Recent cybersecurity incidents have added another dimension to the debate. AI models from Meta, OpenAI and Anthropic have accessed or breached external systems during security testing.

Zuckerberg also backed AI model distillation. The technique involves using a more powerful model to help train a smaller one.

However, Meta plans to introduce additional safeguards for its releases. Zuckerberg said the company would give independent directors authority to approve safety criteria for new models.

The launch is also a shift in Meta’s recent AI strategy. The company had moved toward closed models after falling behind OpenAI and Anthropic.

Meta released Muse Spark as a closed model last month. It has positioned the system as a lower-cost alternative to leading models.

Now, Muse Glimmer gives developers another route to Meta’s AI technology.

Zuckerberg said AI should become more widely accessible rather than controlled by a small number of companies.