# Meta raises capex forecast as Muse AI assistant gains traction

> Meta narrowed its 2026 capital spending forecast to $135-145 billion as its new Muse AI assistant reaches millions of users, offering investors a potential justification for the massive infrastructure investment.
- Title: Meta raises capex forecast as Muse AI assistant gains traction
- Summary: Meta narrowed its 2026 capital spending forecast to $135-145 billion as its new Muse AI assistant reaches millions of users, offering investors a potential…
- Keywords: meta, mark zuckerberg, capital expenditure, ai development, muse ai assistant, earnings, business, technology, raises, capex, forecast, Muse
- Source: Business Insider — https://businessinsider.com/meta-capex-narrows-ai-agent-wars-quarter-3-earnings-2026-10
- Author: Henry Chandonnet
- Published: 2026-10-21T20:14:37.442+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: meta, mark zuckerberg, capital expenditure, ai development, muse ai assistant, earnings, business, technology
## Meta's third quarter spending surge
Meta spent thirty four point nine one billion dollars on capital expenditures in the third quarter of twenty twenty-six, up from thirty one point zero eight billion in the second quarter.
## Narrowed forecast for full year
Meta narrowed its twenty twenty-six capex forecast to one hundred thirty five to one hundred forty five billion dollars, up from the previous range of one hundred thirty to one hundred forty five billion.
## Zuckerberg's AI bet
CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on the Cheeky Pint podcast he would bet up to two hundred billion dollars on AI before knowing whether the models would work.
## Muse reaches millions of users
Meta's new AI assistant Muse reached over two million daily users and three million downloads. Zuckerberg said Muse has a novel business model and will make money through small transaction fees.

> We believe that Muse will make you money, and we're standing behind this by making Muse free for a huge number of tokens with the expectation that over time, we will profit by taking a small fee from transactions.
## Key takeaway

Meta narrowed its 2026 capex forecast to $135-145 billion while its new Muse AI assistant reached over two million daily users, potentially justifying the spending to investors.