Meta Muse Gadgets Turns Tinkerers Into AI Hardware Builders
Meta Muse Gadgets is the company’s new open-source project, and it lets developers build their own hardware that connects to Muse, Meta’s personal AI agent. Muse already books travel, fills out forms, and shops on a user’s behalf, and it has proven popular with the masses. This new side project, however, could be particularly alluring to tinkerers and hackers.
The project was introduced on Friday. Meta is providing open-source firmware, which is the low-level software that runs a device, along with a Linux software development kit (SDK), plus a few project ideas to get users started. These include giving Muse a color e-ink display or loading it onto a stick that plugs into a TV’s HDMI port.
What Meta Muse Gadgets Lets You Build
There don’t appear to be many limits with Meta Muse Gadgets. Users can set up a low-cost hobbyist computer like a Raspberry Pi or an off-the-shelf ESP32 board, and then connect Muse “to your displays, buttons, sensors, actuators, and whatever else you’ve got lying on your workbench,” Meta notes.
That open-ended approach is the point. Rather than locking Muse into a single piece of hardware, Meta is handing developers the firmware and SDK so they can experiment with whatever form factor they prefer. A color e-ink display and an HDMI stick are just two of the starting ideas Meta has shared.
The company has also set up a Discord channel to support users as they build. That gives developers a place to ask questions, share progress, and troubleshoot hardware combinations that Meta itself may not have tested.
Meta Built Its Own Muse Gadget First
Meta has already tried the code itself, naturally. Nat Friedman, head of product at Meta’s Superintelligence Labs, said in a post on X that the company built a gadget called Muse Home Link. The USB-C-powered device lets Muse connect to a home network and talk to the smart devices on it, including speakers and smart TVs.
Meta made 5,000 of these Home Links, in fact, and is giving them away for free to Muse subscribers while supplies last, according to Friedman. Considering Friedman’s post about Home Link received nearly 30,000 views in a few hours, we’re guessing those freebies have been claimed. Friedman said Home Link would be ready to ship a few weeks.
What Muse Home Link Does
The Home Link gadget serves as a bridge between the Muse AI agent and a home’s connected devices. Powered through USB-C, it links Muse to a home network so the agent can communicate with speakers, smart TVs, and other smart devices in the home.
For subscribers who managed to claim one, the device turns a home network into another surface where Muse can operate. It is a practical demonstration of what Meta Muse Gadgets is meant to enable, just built by Meta instead of an outside developer.
Why Meta Muse Gadgets Fits Meta’s AI Strategy
Meta Muse Gadgets may not have wide appeal, but it fits nicely into Meta’s all-in strategy to make Muse more than a standalone chatbot. Meta isn’t content to push Muse on everyday consumers; it’s also trying to woo small businesses and enterprises.
The company earlier this week introduced Muse for Small Business, which is free with usage limits and connects Muse to tools such as Shopify, Dropbox, and Slack. It has also launched a new business unit, Meta Enterprise Platform, to help it push its AI offerings to businesses and corporate customers.
Muse for Small Business and the Enterprise Push
The small business offering gives companies a way to connect Muse directly to the tools they already use, including Shopify, Dropbox, and Slack. Meanwhile, the new Meta Enterprise Platform business unit signals that Meta wants corporate customers to adopt its AI offerings at scale.
Taken together, the moves show a company spreading Muse across several fronts at once. Consumers get an agent that can act on their behalf, developers get open-source hardware tools through Meta Muse Gadgets, and businesses get integrations with the software they already rely on.
What Developers Can Build With Meta Muse Gadgets
The open-source approach means developers can experiment with a wide range of hardware. Meta’s own suggestions include a color e-ink display for Muse and an HDMI stick that plugs into a TV.
Because the project supports low-cost boards like the Raspberry Pi and ESP32, the barrier to entry is low for hobbyists. The accompanying Discord channel gives users a place to get support as they build.
For tinkerers, the appeal is control. Instead of waiting for Meta to ship a device with the right screen, buttons, or sensors, they can assemble something themselves and connect it to Muse using the firmware and SDK Meta has published.
Meta Muse Gadgets opens the door for developers to build custom hardware around Meta’s AI agent, while the company’s own Home Link gadget shows what’s possible. Combined with Muse for Small Business and the Meta Enterprise Platform, the move signals Meta’s intent to push Muse well beyond a standalone chatbot.
Meta is betting that an open-source hardware ecosystem, free giveaway devices, and business-focused tools will make Muse a bigger part of how people and companies use AI day to day. Whether Meta Muse Gadgets attracts a broad community of builders or stays a niche project for hackers remains to be seen, but the tools are now in developers’ hands.
