Meta (META), the internet giant previously known as Facebook, has strongly reiterated its commitment to the development of the Metaverse, even as the company intensifies its pivot towards artificial intelligence (AI). This confirmation came during the company’s recent earnings call, with Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, affirming their unwavering dedication to both avenues.
This assertion comes at a time when Meta’s financial reports show a loss of $13.7 billion on revenue of $2.2 billion during 2022 for Facebook Reality Labs (FRL), the division spearheading the metaverse initiative. This loss compares to the previous year’s loss of $10.2 billion on revenue of $2.3 billion.
Despite substantial losses tied to the initiative, CEO Mark Zuckerberg declared, “We remain fully committed to the Metaverse vision. This is an ambitious long-term horizon, multi-faceted roadmap.”
Meanwhile, the company reported a net income of $7.79 billion in the second quarter, a growth of 16% from $6.7 billion the previous year. Daily active users across Meta’s apps, including Facebook and Instagram, also increased, rising by 5% and 7% respectively.
However, Meta’s Threads app, designed as a competitor to Twitter (X), saw a significant decline in active users, falling by 60% since its launch week.
Meta’s stock ended 1% higher at $294.47 on Wednesday and surged to almost $319 in after-hours trading, reinforcing the market’s faith in the company’s long-term vision.
Zuckerberg’s gamble on the Metaverse continues to be a topic of interest and speculation across the technology and cryptocurrency landscape.
“I can’t guarantee you that I’m going to be right about this bet. I do think that this is the direction that the world is going in,” the CEO boldly stated.
As Meta continues its dual investments in AI and the metaverse, Zuckerberg’s comments reconfirm the company’s dedication to these two forward-looking initiatives, though the balance sheet underlines the hefty price tag of betting on the metaverse’s potential.
This gamble on the future illustrates the risks and rewards that tech giants face as they seek to shape the next generation of digital experiences.