Meta’s ‘open’ AI, and a $250M deal gone very wrong

Meta released Glimmer, an open-weight AI model anyone can download and run on their own hardware, alongside a 6,500-word manifesto from CEO Mark Zuckerberg arguing AI should be 'for everyone,' but the hosts of TechCrunch's Equity podcast noted the vision comes with asterisks. The episode also covered the collapse of a $250M deal between video-clipping startup VideoVerse and sports publisher Minute Media amidst allegations of fraud and forged signatures, and Anthropic's decision to watermark AI-generated text, which users criticized.

Meta released Glimmer this week https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/10/metas-new-glimmer-ai-model-offers-a-hint-at-zuckerbergs-personal-intelligence-vision/ , an open-weight AI model anyone can download and run on their own hardware — a contrast to Muse Spark, the company’s more powerful model that stays locked behind its own APIs. The release landed alongside a letter from Mark Zuckerberg https://www.meta.com/thefutureisforeveryone/?im ref=XUsSSBwtJxyZWKNUNs1271dQUkr0SryZI2V03U0&sharedid=techcrunch.com&irpid=10078&adid=3865253&ircid=51596&utm source=impact&prodsku=&irgwc=1&afsrc=1 arguing AI should be “for everyone” rather than controlled by a handful of labs, but as Equity’s hosts point out, the vision comes with some asterisks https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/10/mark-zuckerbergs-ai-manifesto-is-exactly-why-people-dont-like-ai/ . On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity https://techcrunch.com/podcasts/equity/ podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Rebecca Bellan take a look at Glimmer, Zuckerberg’s 6,500-word manifesto, and more of the week’s headlines, from the true cost of the AI industry’s energy needs to a $250M acquisition gone very wrong. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: - Who’s on the market for a $300 cocktail robot https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/13/bartesian-duet-cocktail-maker-review/ ? - Why Anthropic is adding watermarks https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/11/anthropic-says-it-will-watermark-text-generated-by-its-ai-models/ to its generated text, and users are not happy. - The potential cost Amazon’s planned data center https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/08/planned-amazon-data-center-could-become-the-biggest-climate-polluter-in-the-u-s/ in Texas and the startups racing to fix the grid, including Form Energy’s $750M raise https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/12/form-energy-raises-750m-to-build-more-100-hour-batteries-for-the-grid/ for 100-hour batteries, Reservoir’s $8M bet https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/12/reservoir-raises-8m-to-make-water-heaters-that-people-and-the-grid-will-actually-want/ on smarter water heaters, and Discovered Materials’ https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/10/discovered-materials-is-playing-ai-whack-a-mole-to-hunt-cooler-chips/ hunt for cooler chips. - Why Joby Aviation’s $500M acquisition https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/11/joby-aviation-builds-out-defense-business-with-500m-acquisition/ of a defense contractor reminds Kirsten of its Blade deal last year — and what the 2028 LA Olympics have to do with it. - How a $250M deal between video-clipping startup VideoVerse and sports publisher Minute Media collapsed amidst allegedly forged documents https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/12/how-a-250-million-acquisition-collapsed-into-allegations-of-fraud-and-forged-signatures/ , multiple lawsuits, and a CEO nobody can reach. Subscribe to Equity on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@TechCrunch , Apple Podcasts https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1215439780 , Overcast https://overcast.fm/itunes1215439780/equity , Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/5IEYLip3eDppcOmy5DmphC?si=rZDFHv2sQUul g94iCRgpQ and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X https://twitter.com/EquityPod and Threads https://www.threads.net/@equitypod , at @EquityPod.