When will we ever stop underestimating Mark Zuckerberg?
As AI concerns surged over the summer, Meta was among the hardest-hit companies. Investors were especially skeptical of the firm’s massive capex plans, given that Meta was seen as more focused on AI than fellow hyperscalers like Microsoft.
But the roaring success of Muse, Meta’s new personal AI agent, has sparked a whole new discussion about AI use cases (“musecases,” anyone?) and highlighted which market segments could win or lose in an era of agentic growth.
Start with Meta itself. The company’s stock is at its highest level since last October, up 19% since Muse launched on Sept. 8. Much of that jump came Monday, when it surged 11% after Muse hit No. 1 on Apple’s App Store over the weekend.
Meta’s broader stock chart is remarkably choppy. It seems no matter how many times shares get knocked down, Zuck always has another ace up his sleeve.
Still, it’s important to note that Muse’s success so far has been driven by rapid consumer adoption. Turning that into revenue is another story. At this point, investors are betting Meta can transform its enormous user base and app ecosystem into a lucrative new business.
The trust question
Muse’s breakout comes as Meta Connect—the company’s annual developer conference—kicks off today, giving the firm a chance to address the hype and tease what’s next.
Meta’s goal is to turn Muse into a new revenue stream beyond advertising. The basic version is free, but the company already offers $20- and $100-a-month tiers for heavier users. Its next challenge will be convincing people to hand over the reins of their lives—and pay for the privilege.
After all, Muse doesn’t just collect data. It can enter apps and websites to handle tasks like shopping, making travel plans, and writing emails. It could end up being a tough sell for Meta, a company so polarizing that its controversies become Hollywood movies.
A reshuffling of winners and losers
This is far from just a Meta story. Chipmakers have been dragged along for the ride this week, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up more than 6% in just two days.
Zooming in on the sector, there was a clear divide. On the winning side were CPU-exposed companies (Intel, AMD, Arm, etc.) whose products serve as the all-purpose brains that run software and coordinate tasks.
GPU-makers like Nvidia, meanwhile, struggled to get as much of a lift. They’ve been the darlings of the AI trade to date, with a premium placed on their ability to crunch massive amounts of data at once.
Elsewhere in the tech space—judging by stock moves this week—cloud infrastructure, networking, cybersecurity, payments, and e-commerce are expected to benefit from a further agentic push. Shopify in particular has been on a tear after announcing a deal to integrate Muse with Shop Pay.
The losers are less obvious, as there hasn’t been a broad agentic-led sell-off. But one strategic loser could be Amazon, which blocked Muse from shopping on its platform. The company’s shares are basically flat for the week. The episode highlights potential market risk for closed e-commerce ecosystems.
There are also businesses that could be replaced by automation, including online travel agencies, insurance brokers, and comparison-shopping sites. If AI handles the clerical dirty work, the middleman may no longer be necessary.
Muse is another reminder that Meta can still turn a skeptical market on its head. Now Zuck & Co. have to prove it’s more than a two‑week sensation.
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