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Meta has agreed to pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit with former President Donald Trump. The legal battle arose after the social media giant suspended Trump’s Facebook account following the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots. Meta AI has dramatically developed since then.

The settlement resolves tensions between Trump and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, which had simmered for years since Biden was elected in 2020.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the lawsuit had seen “little activity” until Zuckerberg visited Mar-a-Lago after the 2024 election. The publication reported, “Toward the end of the November dinner, Trump raised the matter of the lawsuit. The president signaled that the litigation had to be resolved before Zuckerberg could be ‘brought into the tent.’”

Reports indicate that a significant portion of the settlement will fund Trump’s presidential library. By settling the lawsuit, Meta and Zuckerberg aim to close the chapter on their rocky relationship with Trump.

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Meta’s Post-Election Changes

In the months following the 2024 election, Zuckerberg implemented several major changes at Meta. These included ending the company’s long-running fact-checking program and rolling back content moderation policies that had previously prohibited dehumanizing language targeting immigrants and LGBTQ individuals. Additionally, Meta discontinued its corporate diversity programs and welcomed UFC CEO and Trump ally Dana White to its board.

Zuckerberg’s proximity to Trump has been noted in the past. He had a prominent seat at Trump’s inauguration alongside other tech leaders, symbolizing a long-standing but complicated relationship.

Meta’s Earnings and Strategic Focus on AI

News of the Trump lawsuit settlement coincided with Meta’s latest earnings report. During an analyst call, Zuckerberg remarked that 2025 would be “a big year for redefining our relationship with governments.” While he did not mention Trump directly, he expressed optimism about working with an administration that prioritizes “American technology winning” and defending “our values and interests abroad.”

Meta has also announced a staggering $65 billion investment in artificial intelligence over the next year. Zuckerberg predicted that Meta AI would reach 1 billion users by 2025. This bold projection underscores the company’s commitment to dominating the AI space.

Meta AI’s New “Memory” Feature

Meta’s latest AI innovation introduces a “memory” feature to personalize user interactions. The feature allows Meta AI to remember details shared during one-on-one chats and leverage user activity from Facebook and Instagram to provide more tailored recommendations.

In a blog post, Meta explained how the feature works: “Meta AI will ‘remember’ details such as food allergies or dietary restrictions to recommend suitable recipes.” Other examples include suggesting weekend activities based on user location and interests derived from specific Reels or other content they’ve interacted with.

This functionality is currently being rolled out in the U.S. and Canada. Users will have access to the memories Meta AI stores about them, with the option to delete specific details if desired.

When questioned about the types of data Meta AI uses for recommendations, a company spokesperson pointed to its Help Center. “Other information from your profile like your age and gender, and interests based on your activity across our products, such as the types of content, including ads, you view or interact with and how you interact with it, may be used to help personalize your interactions with AI,” the spokesperson explained.

Rising Competition: China’s DeepSeek

Meta’s advancements in AI come amidst rising competition from China’s DeepSeek, an open-source AI assistant that has quickly become the top app in Apple’s App Store. Developed with a modest budget of less than $6 million, DeepSeek’s popularity has rattled investors and industry leaders.

Meta’s Chief AI Scientist, Yann Le Cun, dismissed the hype surrounding DeepSeek, stating, “The market reactions to DeepSeek are woefully unjustified.” However, Zuckerberg acknowledged that the rise of DeepSeek has “strengthened our conviction” about open-source AI.

“One of the things that we're talking about is there's going to be an open-source standard globally,” Zuckerberg said. “And I think for our national advantage, it’s important that it’s an American standard.”