'Focus on Health': Has Meta Found an Edge Over OpenAI and Anthropic?

Meta's highest-paid employee, Alexandr Wang, shared a glimpse into how the company plans to compete with major artificial intelligence rivals such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Google.

Speaking at the Bloomberg Tech conference in San Francisco, Wang said health-related capabilities will become a major focus for Meta's future AI models. He suggested that healthcare could help the company stand out in an increasingly crowded AI market.

"Health is an area that we view as really critical as we scale these models out to billions," Wang said.

His comments provide insight into Meta's long-term AI strategy as the company works to challenge popular AI products such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini.

Who Is Alexandr Wang?

Alexandr Wang joined Meta in 2025 after the company invested $14 billion in Scale AI, the artificial intelligence firm he founded.

He now leads Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL), the division responsible for developing Meta's next generation of AI systems.

The unit was created as part of CEO Mark Zuckerberg's broader effort to strengthen Meta's position in the global AI race and close the gap with industry leaders.

Alexandr Wang sits between Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and newly appointed Chief Scientist of Meta Superintelligence Labs, Shengjia Zhao. Image Source: X/@alexandr_wang

Meta Sees Healthcare as a Major AI Opportunity

According to Wang, one of the strongest features of Meta's latest AI model, called Muse Spark, is its ability to handle health-related tasks, claimed media reports.

Meta launched Muse Spark in April. It was the first major AI model released by Meta Superintelligence Labs since Zuckerberg reorganised the company's AI operations. Although Wang acknowledged that Muse Spark is not yet at the same level as leading AI models from OpenAI and Anthropic, he said the technology performed better than Meta had expected.

"It's not at the tier of the leading frontier models," Wang admitted. However, he added that the model delivered stronger results than the company had anticipated during testing.

Meta now expects future versions of the model to become more competitive as development continues.

AI Features Could Reach Billions of Users

Wang said Meta plans to integrate advanced AI capabilities into its existing platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

Because these apps are used by billions of people worldwide, Meta believes it has a unique opportunity to bring AI-powered health tools to a massive audience.

The company sees healthcare as one of the most promising areas for artificial intelligence. Many technology companies are investing heavily in AI systems that can help users understand medical information, manage health conditions and access guidance more easily.

Safety Concerns Emerged During Development

Wang also revealed that Meta encountered biological-risk concerns while developing Muse Spark. He did not provide specific details about the risks but said the company addressed them before launching the model.

The concerns influenced an important decision by Meta. Unlike some of its previous AI models, Muse Spark was not released as open-source software.

Open-source models allow developers and researchers to freely access and modify the underlying technology. By keeping Muse Spark closed, Meta aims to maintain greater control over how the model is used and reduce potential misuse, the media reports added.