For the previous yr and a half, Meta has misplaced a complete of over $30 billion looking for a method to convey digital actuality and augmented actuality to your private home.
That complete comes from the final set of working losses for Actuality Labs, Meta’s division for researching AR and VR. It misplaced a complete of $10 billion in 2021 and $13.7 billion in 2022. Add within the $4.3 billion it misplaced within the earlier quarter and the $3.99 billion it simply misplaced this yr and also you get that very, very huge quantity.
The losses are getting smaller, which suggests Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s “yr of effectivity” (which included shedding 21,000 staff (opens in new tab)) may’ve stemmed the bleeding.
Regardless of the tech world’s waning curiosity in “the metaverse,” particularly as AI continues to flood the general public consciousness, Meta continues to carry on tight to Actuality Labs. Final yr, it elevated the value of its Quest 2 VR headset (opens in new tab), citing elevated manufacturing prices and a need to spend money on “groundbreaking analysis and new product growth that pushes the VR trade to new heights.” It is all a part of a 10-year plan (opens in new tab), in keeping with Zuckerberg.
Not all of us have 10 years to attend for this dream to develop into actuality, and $30 billion is some huge cash. Listed here are some issues you would do with that proper now:
- Donate all of it to mutual assist teams
- Purchase a number of distant islands (opens in new tab)
- Fund 113 Grand Theft Auto video games (based mostly on GTA 5’s estimated $265M funds (opens in new tab))
- Purchase 100,000 of those partially submersible watercrafts (opens in new tab)
- Use it to increase Star Citizen’s scope (opens in new tab) much more (it solely price SpaceX “roughly $390 million (opens in new tab)” to develop the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 rockets, so possibly they may get some actual area journey within the combine?)
- Splurge on vintage pottery (opens in new tab) from the tomb of the primary emperor of China
- Make investments, then purchase a social media platform and run it into the bottom (opens in new tab)
Or you would proceed down Meta’s path and seek for methods to encourage individuals to embrace life within the metaverse, VR gaming, and going out with AR glasses on. Exterior of the Quest, Meta hasn’t had something notably spectacular to point out for it, however clearly $30 billion is a drop within the bucket for what it believes is the longer term.
Subsequent month, Meta will maintain a VR gaming present (opens in new tab) the place it is going to present “over 40 minutes of content material,” for upcoming video games, and possibly a peek at its next-gen Quest headset (opens in new tab).
