Meta's metaverse, mixed reality bet continues to bleed billions of dollars

Since its inception in 2020, Meta Reality Labs has lost $45 billion. In the last four years, there have been a few product announcements, some glimpses into the future and then the AI integration.

Moneycontrol News

April 25, 2024 / 08:14 IST

Meta Metaverse

It was in 2021 when Facebook made a pivot to metaverse, rebranded it to Meta and looked beyond the world of social media. However, Meta Reality Labs — the division responsible for all things metaverse — has been bleeding money non-stop. According to the numbers revealed in Meta’s quarterly results, Meta Reality Labs posted an operating loss of $3.85 billion. Furthermore, the revenue stood at $440 million, which was up 30 per cent from last year. The revenue from Meta Reality Labs was around 1% of Meta’s total sales for the first quarter of 2024.

Since its inception in 2020, Meta Reality Labs has lost $45 billion, according to a report by CNBC.

In a call with investors, Zuckerberg said that new initiatives take time in reaping profits. “I think it’s worth calling that out, that we’ve historically seen a lot of volatility in our stock during this phase of our product playbook where we’re investing in scaling a new product but aren’t yet monetising it,” Zuckerberg said.

Meta recently announced that is taking the next step towards its vision for a more open computing platform for the metaverse. The company said that it is opening up the operating system powering Meta Quest devices to third-party hardware makers. “We’re working with leading global technology companies to bring this new ecosystem to life and making it even easier for developers to build apps and reach their audiences on the platform,” said Meta.

The company also announced Meta Horizon OS — the operating system for mixed reality devices — and said that it is working with the likes of Microsoft, Qualcomm, Asus and others.