Meta launches Program to Support Startups using Llama AI
Meta has introduced a new initiative called Llama for Startups to encourage U.S.-based startups to adopt its Llama AI models. The program offers direct support from Meta’s Llama team and provides funding to qualifying companies. Specifically, startups incorporated in the U.S. with less than $10 million in funding, at least one developer on staff, and a focus on generative AI applications can apply by May 30.
Participants may receive up to $6,000 per month for six months, helping offset costs associated with building and improving generative AI solutions. Furthermore, Meta’s experts will work closely with these startups to explore advanced uses of Llama technology that could benefit their products and services.
Competitive Landscape and Recent Challenges for Llama
This new program comes amid fierce competition in the open AI model space. Despite Llama’s impressive milestone of over a billion downloads, Meta faces significant rivals like DeepSeek, Google, and Alibaba’s Qwen. These competitors could potentially disrupt Meta’s efforts to grow a wide-reaching model ecosystem.
Moreover, Llama has encountered a few setbacks recently. For instance, Meta delayed the launch of its flagship model, Llama 4 Behemoth, due to concerns about its performance on key benchmarks. In addition, Meta defended itself against accusations of manipulating results on the popular LM Arena AI benchmark by submitting a specially optimized version of its Llama 4 Maverick model rather than the publicly released version.
Meta’s Ambitions and Investments in Generative AI
Despite these hurdles, Meta remains ambitious about Llama and its broader generative AI portfolio. Last year, the company forecasted that its generative AI products could generate between $2 billion and $3 billion in revenue in 2025. Looking further ahead, Meta predicts revenues could reach between $460 billion and $1.4 trillion by 2035.
To support this vision, Meta has established revenue-sharing agreements with companies hosting its Llama models. It recently launched an API allowing businesses to customize Llama releases. Additionally, Meta AI, the company’s AI assistant powered by Llama, may eventually incorporate ads and offer subscription features, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg mentioned during the Q1 earnings call.
Building and running these AI models requires substantial investment. Meta’s generative AI budget was over $900 million in 2024 and could surpass $1 billion this year. On top of that, Meta plans to spend between $60 billion and $80 billion on capital expenditures in 2025, primarily for new data centers to support its AI infrastructure.
