Meta and Nvidia release open-weight AI models as US tech firms urge policymakers to avoid premature restrictions

Published Aug 12, 12:00 PM UTC

Meta and Nvidia released open-weight AI models this week, marking a concerted U.S. effort to compete with leading Chinese AI labs like Moonshot AI, DeepSeek, and Alibaba's Qwen. Meta launched Muse Glimmer and opened weights for Muse Spark 1.2, while Nvidia debuted Nemotron 3.5 Lightning, described as 'truly open source.' The releases follow a July 24 open letter from over 20 U.S. tech companies urging policymakers to avoid 'premature restrictions' on open-weight models, including those from China. Box CEO Aaron Levie called Meta's move a 'very big deal' and said it plants 'a very firm flag in the ground that America will have near-frontier open-source models.' The article highlights the contentious debate over open-weight AI, balancing national security concerns with arguments for innovation and competition.