New Delhi: Meta is in advanced discussions with several major media companies, including Axel Springer, Fox Corp., and News Corp., to license news content for its artificial intelligence (AI) products, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal and Reuters.
The negotiations mark a strategic shift for the social media giant, which has gradually scaled back its focus on news distribution in recent years. Meta had earlier signed multimillion-dollar deals with publishers such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times to supply content for its Facebook News tab. However, in 2022, it reduced these payouts, a move that triggered sharp traffic declines for many publishers dependent on referrals from Facebook.
The renewed push comes as competitors pursue similar initiatives. Google is reportedly recruiting publishers for AI-related licensing projects, while AI search company Perplexity has committed $42.5 million for a revenue-sharing program that compensates media houses when their content is accessed via its Comet browser or AI assistant.
Heavy AI Bet
The content licensing talks coincide with Meta’s broader push to accelerate its AI strategy. Earlier this month, the company finalized a $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI, acquiring a 49% stake in the San Francisco-based data-labeling provider. The deal valued Scale AI at nearly $29 billion and underscored Meta’s commitment to building advanced AI infrastructure.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg has placed AI at the core of Meta’s growth roadmap. The company has projected capital expenditures between $66 billion and $72 billion for 2025, with a significant share dedicated to AI-related infrastructure. Its AI unit was recently reorganized under “Superintelligence Labs” following the departure of senior executives and lukewarm reception to its latest model, Llama 4.
Industry analysts suggest that securing news content licenses could help Meta strengthen the reliability and relevance of its AI products, while also opening new monetization opportunities for publishers who have seen digital revenues squeezed in recent years.
