- Meta has vowed to continue funding its metaverse ambitions despite the undertaking leading to a $13.7 billion loss in 2022
- Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg believes that the metaverse has a promising future
- The company expects to incur more losses in 2023
Meta has vowed to continue funding its metaverse vision despite the same ambitions leading to a $13.7 billion loss in 2022. According to the company’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the virtual world has a promising future making it impractical to abandon the quest in its early days. Meta plans to launch another virtual reality (VR) headset this year and surprisingly expects its metaverse push to cost them more losses in 2023.
Adjust, Not Stop
Zuckerberg commented on the company’s metaverse ambitions on Feb 1 during an earnings call. According to Meta’s latest earning report, the firm’s metaverse division, Reality Labs, recorded a loss of close to $14 billion last year, with over $4 billion recorded in Q4 2022 and over $3 billion in Q3 of the same year.
Although Zuckerberg observed that there is no “signal” to make the company deviate from its metaverse plans, he added that Meta is “constantly adjusting […] and making decisions about what makes sense to do [going] forward.”
Meta’s CFO Susan Li echoed Zuckerberg’s comment adding that she expects “Reality Labs losses to increase in 2023.” Li also noted that Meta will “continue to invest meaningfully in this area given the significant long-term opportunities we see.”
Quest Pro Improves Social Experiences
Zuckerberg disclosed the company’s mixed reality (MR) headset, Quest Pro, launched last year is setting the pace in the industry, revealing that they plan to launch the next generation of the headset later this year to provide superior social experiences compared to “what’s possible today on phones.”
Meta’s metaverse ambitions are likely geared towards controlling a huge metaverse market share which McKinsey estimates to reach $5 trillion in value by 2030. However, it’s not clear how long Meta will take the losses with some like Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin observing that the metaverse needs 28 years to mature.
