Key facts
- Meta Platforms is expanding its AI agent Muse to small businesses.
- Muse for Small Business integrates with tools like Shopify, QuickBooks, Slack, and Dropbox.
- Meta Platforms signed AI infrastructure agreements with Australia's Firmus for GPU compute capacity in Southeast Asia.
- Chirantan Desai, former CEO of MongoDB, will lead Meta's new enterprise AI business.
- MongoDB shares fell 27% following Desai's departure.
Meta Platforms is expanding its AI agent, Muse, to small businesses, integrating it with popular tools like Shopify, QuickBooks, Stripe, and Canva to assist owners with business operations and customer acquisition. This initiative aims to diversify Meta's revenue streams beyond its traditional advertising model.
The expanded Muse for Small Business can connect to various business tools and Meta's own platforms, including Instagram professional account analytics and Facebook Pages. Meta stated that Muse will require user approval before publishing content, sending messages, or making purchases. While most uses of Muse will be free, subscription plans will offer additional features.
Muse, launched earlier this month, has already seen significant adoption, topping free app charts in the US and Canada, with an estimated 2.8 million downloads in its first two weeks, according to Sensor Tower.
In a separate development, Meta has also secured AI infrastructure agreements with Australian firm Firmus for GPU compute capacity in Southeast Asia. This deal builds on existing deployments of Nvidia GB300 NVL72 systems at Firmus' Melbourne data center. Firmus is reportedly preparing for a $5 billion initial public offering to support its AI projects.
Furthermore, Meta launched its "Meta Enterprise Platform" to offer AI tools to businesses, appointing Chirantan “CJ” Desai, the former president and CEO of MongoDB, to lead the new division. Desai's departure led to a 27% plunge in MongoDB's shares, with Dev Ittycheria appointed as interim CEO.