Meta's Muse surpassed ChatGPT, sparked AI chip stock rally

Meta's Muse Outperforms ChatGPT in Early Adoption

Meta's new personal AI assistant, Muse, surpassed ChatGPT in downloads and daily active users during its first twelve days, according to third-party market estimates from Apptopia.

On iOS in the United States and Canada, Muse reached 1.8 million downloads, while ChatGPT recorded 1.3 million in twelve days. So far globally, Muse accumulated 2.8 million installs during those twelve days, with growth still showing no signs of slowing yet.

On September 22, Meta shares rose 11 percent, triggering a global rally in major artificial intelligence chip stocks across both the United States and Asian markets.

Muse first topped the major US Apple App Store top free app chart, quickly surpassing ChatGPT within a few days of its own September 8 launch.

Apptopia reported Muse had 642,000 daily active users on its mobile app in the United States, while ChatGPT had 231,000. On iOS alone, Muse still led with 359,000 daily active users, higher than ChatGPT had recorded in the corresponding period.

AI Chip Stocks Rally as Investors Reprice Compute Demand

The rapid adoption of Meta's Muse assistant prompted global investors to reassess overall long-term demand for artificial intelligence computing power. Dilin Wu, a strategist at Pepperstone, said the market viewed the development as a repricing of long-term AI infrastructure needs.

If Muse gains widespread adoption, strong global demand for the future AI infrastructure expansion will increase significantly, ultimately benefiting several leading chipmakers and AI hardware suppliers.

Meta expects capital expenditures of $130 billion to $145 billion in 2026, mainly for data centers, servers, and networking equipment. The company's key metrics for Muse include monthly active users, user retention rates, paid conversion rates, and task completion rates.

On September 22, the US Nasdaq Composite reached an all-time daily record high of 27,272 points, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor stock index rose by 4.3 percent.

Memory chip stocks led gains, with SanDisk up 8 percent and Micron and SK Hynix ADR each up over 3 percent. In Asia, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose about 3.5 percent, while Taiwan's Taiex index climbed to a record high.

Muse Features, Security, and Competitive Landscape

Meta launched Muse on September 8 as its new personal AI assistant capable of planning, using various tools, and executing complex tasks autonomously for many users.

The assistant runs in an isolated cloud environment called Muse Secure VM, with online activities audited by a Sentinel agent. Users can manage application and account permissions and view activity logs, while Muse requires confirmation before sending emails or purchases.

Meta previously used large-scale cross-promotion for Threads, which now has over 500 million users, through marketing and integration with Instagram. Apptopia reported roughly 95 percent of Muse users also use Facebook, and that 63 percent of them also use Instagram.

Amazon currently restricts Muse from shopping on behalf of its users, raising serious concerns about AI user identity verification, the major account data, and overall security.

Google leads in access points through Gemini, Android, Workspace, Search, and Shopping, while ChatGPT holds advantages in complex enterprise workflows. Muse focuses on personal tasks and consumer scenarios, with its potential expansion to WhatsApp, Mac, and its future AI glasses.