Meta CTO Calls Reality Labs a ‘Legendary Misadventure’ Following $60B in Losses: Is Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse Dream Dead?

Key Takeaways

• The next twelve months are crucial in proving the worth of the metaverse, according to Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth. 
• After pivoting away from the metaverse in favor of AI, it seems CEO Mark Zuckerberg has not given up on his grand vision of a virtual world. 
• Reality Labs, the division that handles metaverse technology at Meta, has lost $60 billion since 2020.

Meta’s chief technology officer, Andrew “Boz” Bosworth, believes 2025 is a pivotal year for CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse dream.

According to a leaked memo seen by Business Insider , Bosworth told staff that this year was the “most critical” to prove the metaverse is either a visionary feat or a “legendary misadventure.”

The comments follow a painful few years for Zuckerberg’s metaverse. Since 2020, one year before Zuckerberg rebranded the company from Facebook to Meta, its Reality Labs unit has suffered losses exceeding $60 billion, according to its recent earnings report.

Pivotal Year For Zuckerberg’s Metaverse

Bosworth told staff that it was crucial the company drove sales and engagement in mixed reality this year.

“We need to drive sales, retention, and engagement across the board but especially in mixed reality,” he wrote in an internal work forum.  ”

“And Horizon Worlds on mobile absolutely has to break out for our long-term plans to have a chance. If you don’t feel the weight of history on you, then you aren’t paying attention.”

The CTO added that 2025 would likely determine “whether this entire effort will go down as the work of visionaries or a legendary misadventure.”

Meta’s Shift To AI and Efficiency

In April 2024, it seemed like Zuckerberg had all but given up on his metaverse dream.

Following the boom in artificial intelligence, accelerated by the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the Meta CEO said that AI would be the company’s biggest focus in 2024.

At the same time, Meta announced plans to spend up to $40 billion on data centers, hardware, and servers.

This also coincided with Meta’s “Year of Efficiency,” which Zuckerberg had announced a year earlier to become a “stronger and more nimble organization.”

Zuckerberg said Meta would be “proactive on cutting projects that aren’t performing or may no longer be crucial” and that it would emphasize “removing layers of middle management to make decisions faster.”

With Reality Labs, the division that handles the metaverse side of the company, hemorrhaging money—it seemed likely that Zuckerberg’s once epic dream of a virtual world had been forgotten.

Zuckerberg Hasn’t Given Up Yet

Zuckerberg envisions the metaverse as a digital universe where consumers can shop, play, work, and learn. As Zuck imagines it, the metaverse will be built on the foundations of VR and AR.

Despite a history of losses in the VR and AR space, and a year-long switch to focusing on AI, it seems Zuckerberg has remained optimistic on his ambitious plans to bring the technology to the mainstream.

In an all-hands meeting last week, Zuckerberg discussed the importance of the company’s AR smart glasses.

The Meta CEO said this year would be “a defining year that determines if we’re on a path towards many hundreds of millions, and eventually billions of AI glasses.”

The focus on glasses represents a significant move away from traditional VR and AR headsets, which Meta has struggled to find real success with.

In August, Meta canceled its premium mixed reality headset, which was set for release in 2027. However, the focus on smart glasses shows Zuckerberg is not giving up. 

“A lot of people in the world have glasses,” Zuckerberg said in Meta’s recent earnings call . “It’s hard for me to imagine that a decade or more from now, all the glasses aren’t going to basically be AI glasses, as well as a lot of people who don’t wear glasses today finding that to be a useful thing.”