Meta to host its first AI conference on April 29
What's the story
Meta has officially announced its first-ever generative AI conference, LlamaCon, on April 29. The event is named after Meta's family of generative AI models. The main goal of this conference is to share updates on Meta's open-source AI developments and assist developers in creating innovative apps and products. However, details about the speakers or possible products to be showcased are not yet revealed.
Event focus
LlamaCon: A platform for Meta's AI advancements
The conference is likely to showcase Meta's continued efforts on its fourth-generation AI model, Llama 4, slated for release later this year. The company has said it will reveal more about LlamaCon in the weeks leading up to the event. This announcement comes as part of Meta's ambitious plans for 2025, which also includes another major event later in the year.
Upcoming events
Meta's Connect event scheduled for September 17
Along with LlamaCon, Meta has planned its next big Connect event for September 17. The company promises the event will have reveals that will entice "virtual and mixed reality developers, content creators, metaverse mavens and AI glasses enthusiasts." The announcement comes on the heels of Meta Connect 2024's success, which unveiled products such as the Quest 3S and prototype AR glasses called Orion.
AI rivalry
Meta faces competition and legal challenges
According to TechCrunch, Meta is already up against AI rival DeepSeek, which has created similar technology to Meta's at a fraction of the development cost. There are rumors that DeepSeek's upcoming models could even beat Llama 4. On top of that, Meta is also contending with a lawsuit for using copyrighted book materials without permission to train its Llama models.