Meta Unveils AI Game-Building Tools, Sending Unity, Roblox, AppLovin Lower

Meta is drawing renewed investor confidence as its Muse AI product climbs the App Store and the company builds momentum around its Meta Connect event, according to KeyBanc Capital Markets Managing Director Justin Patterson. Patterson said Meta spent the year trading at its widest PE discount to Google in roughly a decade, with investors withholding credit for its CapEx and AI investments, but that gap has now closed as Muse drives consumer engagement, business connectors and a new device cycle. He noted the AI cycle is humbling, recalling that a year ago Google was seen as the AI loser before Gemini's Nano Banana shot to the top of the App Store and the stock gained over 100% in a year, while Meta has now moved past the social addiction trial and a successful Muse launch. Patterson said the next leg of the trade is watching the Muse ecosystem build out through more app downloads and connectors, which should eventually translate into top-line revisions and a path to $40 plus in earnings on 2028. He added that Meta reset its AI strategy away from Llama and formed the MSL group, Super intelligence labs, whose team has delivered frequent model updates and a consumer-facing AI product, taking the company from laggard to leader in a matter of months.

Meta is banking its future on its new Muse AI agent, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled as the centerpiece of the company's vision at the Meta Connect conference on Wednesday. The agent has quickly jumped to the top of both Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store, and according to Zuckerberg, millions of people are already using it. Chief AI officer Alexandr Wang demonstrated use cases ranging from scheduling meetings to negotiating better cable rates and making purchases across multiple services, and Meta is also bringing Muse to its next-generation Meta VR Glasses and to the Muse Charm, a handheld device that lets users interact with the agent without a smartphone or smart glasses. Meta said it will make money from Muse by taking a small cut on transactions made via the agent, and Zuckerberg said he expects Muse to grow into the personal super intelligence that billions of people around the world will use. The company dedicated part of the keynote to privacy, citing the Muse Secure VM and a forthcoming Muse Confidential VM, though it may take time to earn trust after its $5 billion settlement over the Cambridge Analytica data privacy scandal in 2019.