Meta Muse Spark 1.1 launch: API preview for US developers

Meta has opened Muse Spark 1.1 to US developers through a public Meta Model API preview on Jul 9, 2026. The company says the new model is a “step-change” from the first generation and is available in Thinking mode through the Meta AI app and Meta AI website.

What is new in Muse Spark 1.1?

Muse Spark 1.1 is a reported improvement over the initial April release, with Meta saying it can do more advanced coding, including detection and fixing of complex bugs, support end-to-end agentic workflows across a range of apps including multi-agent systems, and provide native multimodal perception across images, videos, and documents. Meta described the update as a “step-change” informed by developer feedback.

The Verge notes those upgrades explicitly as Meta positions Muse Spark 1.1 to handle more sophisticated developer tasks and integrate across workflows. The company frames the release as part of its push to bring Muse Spark into production uses beyond chat, citing multimodal inputs and agentic workflows as key capabilities.

How can developers access Muse Spark 1.1?

Muse Spark 1.1 is available now in Thinking mode through the Meta AI app and Meta AI website, and it is accessible through a new Meta Model API, which is offered in public preview for US developers. Meta is including $20 worth of free credits with every new Meta Model API account.

Meta originally launched its first in-house Muse Spark model in April, initially making it available only directly through Meta AI. The Verge adds that Muse Spark later powered chatbots inside Instagram and WhatsApp and was used in the latest Meta smart glasses, indicating a path from internal deployment to product integration.

What preceded this release?

Meta reentered the AI race with the first in-house Muse Spark model in April 2026. This week’s activities also included the launch of Muse Image, an image generation model whose launch drew controversy for its ability to incorporate other users’ Instagram content into its generations. The Verge places Muse Spark 1.1 and Muse Image in the same stretch of releases as Meta seeks to justify the billions it has spent catching up in the AI competition.

The company is aiming for parity with competitors named in the coverage: OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic. The Verge connects Muse Spark 1.1’s rollout to previous hires and a company restructuring last year as part of Meta’s broader effort to scale its AI work.

Why it matters

Meta is pushing Muse Spark 1.1 beyond a research milestone into developer-facing tooling with immediate commercial signals: an API preview, free credits, and integration into existing Meta apps and devices. If Muse Spark 1.1 delivers on debugging, multimodal perception, and multi-agent workflows, it could speed how quickly developers build production features inside Instagram, WhatsApp, and Meta’s hardware.

That matters because Meta is explicitly trying to justify massive AI spending and to catch up with firms such as OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic; moving from internal models to a public API is a key step in that strategy.

What to watch

Watch whether the Meta Model API expands beyond the US public preview and whether Muse Spark 1.1 becomes the backend for more Meta products beyond the app integrations already mentioned. Also monitor uptake by developers using the $20 free credits and whether reported advances in bug detection and multimodal perception appear in third-party tooling.