Yazılar

Instagram Reaches 3 Billion Monthly Active Users, Zuckerberg Says

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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Wednesday that Instagram has grown to 3 billion monthly active users, cementing its status as one of the world’s most widely used social media platforms.

The last time Meta disclosed Instagram’s user numbers was in 2022, when the app surpassed 2 billion monthly users.

Meta, then known as Facebook, acquired Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion—a deal that was initially met with skepticism since the app was focused mainly on photo sharing and generated little revenue. Since then, Instagram has become a central part of Meta’s business, with analysts estimating it could contribute over half of the company’s U.S. ad revenue this year.

A key driver of Instagram’s rapid growth has been Reels, the short-form video feature launched in 2020, which directly competes with TikTok and YouTube Shorts.

TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, reported earlier this month that it has more than 1 billion monthly users worldwide, underscoring the intense competition in the short-video market.

Meta expands Llama AI access to U.S. allies in Europe and Asia

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Meta Platforms said Tuesday it will make its Llama artificial intelligence system available to U.S. allies including France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and South Korea, as well as to NATO and European Union institutions. The announcement follows U.S. approval for federal agencies to use Llama earlier this week.

Llama, a large language model capable of processing text, video, images, and audio, will now be deployed more broadly as part of Washington’s effort to strengthen digital cooperation with democratic allies.

Meta said it will work with partners such as Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Oracle, and Palantir to deliver Llama-based solutions abroad. The company emphasized that its models are released largely free for developers, a strategy CEO Mark Zuckerberg argues will drive innovation, reduce reliance on rivals, and keep engagement strong across Meta’s platforms.

The U.S. General Services Administration confirmed Monday that Llama would be added to its list of approved AI tools for federal use, meeting security and legal standards. By extending access to allies, Meta and Washington aim to align AI infrastructure across friendly nations at a time of intensifying global competition in artificial intelligence.

Meta’s TBD Lab: Small, Talent-Dense Team Driving Next-Gen AI Models

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Meta’s TBD Lab, a research group within its Superintelligence Labs, consists of only “a few dozen” researchers and engineers, CFO Susan Li told investors at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology conference on Tuesday.

Key Details

  • Team size: “A few dozen” researchers and engineers, highly talent-dense.

  • Focus: Developing next-generation foundation models at the AI frontier over the next 1–2 years.

  • Name origin: “TBD” began as a placeholder (“to be determined”) but stuck, reflecting the exploratory nature of the group.

Meta’s AI Reorganization

  • Earlier this year, Meta split its AI efforts under Superintelligence Labs into four groups:

    1. TBD Lab – new, frontier-focused models.

    2. Products team – including the Meta AI assistant.

    3. Infrastructure team – scaling compute and systems.

    4. FAIR (Fundamental AI Research) – long-term research.

  • This restructuring followed senior staff exits and lukewarm reception for Meta’s Llama 4 model.

Leadership & Talent Push

  • CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been personally driving talent acquisition, reportedly reaching out to startup founders and top researchers directly — even via WhatsApp — with million-dollar offers.

  • The company’s AI ambitions are positioned as a long-term bet, combining frontier R&D, consumer AI products, and infrastructure scaling.

Strategic Significance

  • The compact size of TBD Lab emphasizes high-leverage innovation rather than large-scale manpower.

  • Its work will likely feed into both open-source and proprietary models, shaping Meta’s response to OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic in the race for AI dominance.

  • If successful, TBD Lab could be key in restoring Meta’s competitive credibility in foundation models.