$60bn boost as Zuckerberg tires of the Metaverse
Meta shares climbed 3.6% on Thursday, adding roughly $60 billion to the company’s market value, after reports that it plans to slash spending on its metaverse ambitions.
Mark Zuckerberg is looking to cut the budget for Meta’s metaverse unit and redirect funding to its AI and smart-glasses programmes, according to sources cited by Yahoo Finance. Bloomberg first reported the shift. Meta declined to comment.
Zuckerberg rebranded Facebook as Meta in 2021 to champion a future built around virtual worlds where people would meet, work and hang out through digital avatars. The bet never caught fire. Reality Labs, the unit behind the effort, has racked up heavy losses, including $4.4 billion in the most recent quarter on just $470 million in revenue.
VR headsets have also fallen short of the mass-market traction enjoyed by smartphones. IDC expects the AR/VR and displayless smart-glasses market to grow 39.2% in 2025 to 14.3 million units, compared with as many as 1.25 billion smartphones.
The fastest growth is coming from smart glasses such as Meta’s Ray-Bans, which pack speakers, microphones and AI features, and could see shipments jump as much as 247.5%.
In September, Zuckerberg unveiled Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses, $799 frames with a built-in screen that lets wearers view messages and navigate a small set of apps.
Google and Samsung are working on their own versions, and Apple is reportedly developing smart eyewear as well.
The reported budget cuts land as Meta pours more money into AI infrastructure, including new and leased data centres such as the Hyperion site, funded through a deal with Blue Owl.
Meta has been hiring aggressively to staff its AI push, recruiting Apple design executive Alan Dye and poaching engineers from several companies, including OpenAI.
