Meta, the tech giant behind Facebook and Instagram, has been found to generate revenue from its Llama AI models, despite CEO Mark Zuckerberg's previous claims that the company's business model does not involve "selling access" to these models. A newly unredacted court filing submitted in the copyright lawsuit Kadrey v. Meta reveals that Meta shares a percentage of the revenue generated by companies hosting its Llama models with users of those models.

The filing does not disclose which specific host partners pay Meta, but the company lists several partners in its blog posts, including AWS, Nvidia, Databricks, Groq, Dell, Azure, Google Cloud, and Snowflake. While developers are not required to use a Llama model through a host partner, many hosts provide additional services and tooling that make it simpler and easier to get Llama models up and running.

Zuckerberg had mentioned the possibility of licensing access to Llama models during an earnings call last April, but did not provide specifics. He also floated other monetization strategies, such as business messaging services and ads in "AI interactions." However, the company's revenue-sharing agreements with host partners were not disclosed until now.

The revelation is significant because plaintiffs in the Kadrey v. Meta lawsuit claim that Meta not only used pirated works to develop Llama but also facilitated infringement by "seeding," or uploading, these works. The plaintiffs allege that Meta used surreptitious torrenting methods to obtain ebooks for training, and in the process, shared the ebooks with other torrenters.

Despite the controversy, Meta is investing heavily in AI, with plans to spend $60 billion-$80 billion on capital expenditures in 2025, primarily on data centers and growing the company's AI development teams. The company is reportedly considering launching a subscription service for Meta AI, which will add unspecified capabilities to the assistant, likely to offset a portion of the costs.

Zuckerberg has emphasized the value of open access to Llama models, stating that it improves Meta's products and allows the company to benefit from the AI research community. However, the revenue-sharing agreements with host partners suggest that Meta is generating revenue from Llama in a more direct way than previously disclosed.

The implications of this revelation are far-reaching, and it remains to be seen how Meta's business model will evolve as the company continues to invest in AI. As the tech giant navigates the complexities of AI development and monetization, it will be important to monitor its progress and ensure that its practices align with its stated values of openness and innovation.

Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but we will update this piece if we hear back.