Meta Adds Moltbook to Its AI Splurge, but the Pieces Still Don’t Fit
Meta’sMETA AI strategy is starting to look less like a roadmap and more like a panic binge. Its latest move involved acquiring Moltbook, the viral OpenClaw-linked social network built exclusively for AI agents. The deal follows multi-billion-dollar splurges on Scale AI, Manus, and a sweeping talent poaching campaign, even as the broader strategy still takes shape.
- Moltbook’s CEO and COO will join Meta Superintelligence Labs — even as OpenClaw’s founder, who pioneered the underlying tech, heads to OpenAI.
- Despite the shopping spree, the average Facebook or Instagram user hasn’t felt a thing yet — with Meta’s AI teams logging a retention rate of just 64%.
More money, more problems: Meta’s inorganic growth is giving way to even more cracks. The $14.3B Scale AI integration is reportedly struggling, and golden boy Alexander Wang has yet to achieve meaningful ROI. On top of that, Meta’s independent Oversight Board just flagged its AI content moderation as inadequate, a growing misinformation liability as it pumps AI-generated activity through its platforms. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is assembling one of the world’s most expensive AI puzzles, but he can’t figure out where to place the pieces just yet. Not even in the metaverse.