business
Meta AI model matches OpenAI GPT-5.5 but trails newer GPT-5.6 release
Meta AI chief Alexandr Wang told employees in an internal town hall that the company's next model has reached parity with OpenAI's GPT-5.5. The update comes as Meta raises its 2026 infrastructure spending forecast to as much as $145 billion.
ndtv.comAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
Developing·Limited corroboration so far. This page will refresh as more sources emerge.
Meta's upcoming AI model codenamed Watermelon now matches OpenAI's GPT-5.5 on AI model benchmarks, according to statements made by the company's AI chief in an internal town hall held on or before July 3. Alexandr Wang said Watermelon is currently in training and uses an order of magnitude more compute than the prior Avocado model family.
He described Watermelon as the next model after Avocado, whose first release, Muse Spark, came out in April.
OpenAI released GPT-5.5 in April and introduced GPT-5.6 late in June without a general release. Business Insider reported the details of Wang's remarks from two sources familiar with the town hall. Meta separately told investors it now expects to spend between $125 billion and $145 billion in 2026 on chips, data centers, and other infrastructure.
The company had previously forecast a range of $115 billion to $135 billion.
