Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse ambitions are costing his company, Meta, dearly. Despite continuous losses in its reality labs unit, responsible for metaverse-related tech, the Facebook founder remains steadfast in his belief in the potential of the metaverse. In the first quarter of 2022 alone, the division recorded a whopping $3.99 billion operating loss. This figure adds to the division’s losses of $14 billion in the previous year, bringing the total loss since Q4 2020 to a staggering $30 billion.
Zuckerberg’s unwavering faith in the metaverse and Reality Labs has come at a cost to his company’s workforce, with Meta cutting around 21,000 jobs in its “year of efficiency.” The metaverse has attracted investment from many businesses in the past, but analysts predict that most of these projects will close by 2025.
The declining interest in the metaverse may be attributed to the global economic slump, which has seen virtual reality headset shipments drop by over 12% year-over-year in 2022. Furthermore, the rise of generative AI is a new frontier that companies are eagerly exploring. Meta, which is pushing into this area, may be shifting its resources into artificial intelligence at the expense of its metaverse projects.
However, Zuckerberg remains steadfast in his belief that the metaverse could potentially earn billions or even trillions of dollars in the next ten years. Meta’s head of global affairs, Nick Clegg, has also recently held a small press conference virtual conference within Meta’s Horizon Workrooms to remind people of the potential of the metaverse.
Despite the staggering losses, Zuckerberg’s belief remains unwavering. While he remains optimistic, time will tell whether his bold prediction for the metaverse will indeed come to fruition.
