- Meta’s metaverse ambitions have resulted in a $4 billion loss in Q1 2023
- Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expects the metaverse unit to continue incurring losses throughout the year
- The loss adds to the $13.7 billion Meta’s metaverse division Reality Labs reported in 2022
Meta’s metaverse ambitions have resulted in a $4 billion loss in Q1 2023 with the company’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealing that the ambitions are likely to ramp up more losses throughout the year. However, the company said that the severity of the losses made in its metaverse unit Reality Labs was reduced by the success of its artificial intelligence (AI) developments. The $4 billion loss comes at the heels of the $13.7 billion loss Reality Labs recorded in 2022.
Losses Throughout 2022
The losses made by Reality Labs are on the rise since its inception in 2021 considering that the division incurred a loss of $2.9 billion, over $3 billion and over $4 billion in Q2, Q3 and Q4 2022 respectively. Despite the loss in its metaverse division, the company reported a $5.7 billion profit across its products and services.
According to Zuckerberg, the profits were driven by an expanding community and the use of AI on its social media apps. The executive also revealed that although the company is investing heavily in AI, it’s not “moving away from” its metaverse mission adding that it’ll continue focussing “on both” since the two can benefit from each other.
Metaverse is the Future of Social Interactions
The Meta CEO maintained that the metaverse is still a key component of social interactions in the future. Zuckerberg recently said that the company’s focus on AI is meant to improve users’ experiences with text, images, videos and ads across apps.
With U.S. lawmakers expressing concerns with Meta’s metaverse platform, the company’s shift to AI, and pausing support for NFTs on its social media platforms, it’s unclear whether the company is slowly dimming the lights on its metaverse vision despite saying otherwise.
