Zuckerberg Ends Metaverse: Meta Shifts Strategy After Years of Costly Setbacks
Mark Zuckerberg ends metaverse dreams as Meta changes direction. The company once pushed the idea as tech’s next big leap. However, after years of heavy spending, the vision no longer matches the market.
Zuckerberg introduced Meta in 2021 with bold promises. He imagined a world where people would work, play, and socialize in digital spaces. Many investors shared his optimism, and some even called the metaverse a trillion-dollar opportunity. For a moment, the excitement felt unstoppable.
Reality Hits Hard
Meta’s Reality Labs division soon faced challenges. The team spent more than $70 billion building virtual worlds, avatars, and headsets. As a result, losses piled up while user interest stayed low. The hardware remained expensive, and the content stayed limited. People simply did not see a strong reason to leave their phones or laptops.
Now Meta plans to cut the Reality Labs budget by up to 30%. This change could reduce spending by as much as $6 billion. It may also lead to layoffs early next year. Leadership started reviewing budgets last month, and Reality Labs received the toughest demands. Investors viewed the decision as overdue, and Meta’s stock rose more than 4% after the news.
AI Takes Center Stage
Meta insists it will not fully abandon the metaverse. However, the company is shifting more resources into AI. For example, it is investing in data centers, new models, and wearable devices like its Ray-Ban smart glasses. Sales for these glasses have tripled over the past year.
Tech companies across the industry are doing the same. Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google now place AI at the heart of their strategies. Money-losing projects without a clear AI connection face pressure. Even Meta avoided using the word metaverse on its latest earnings call. The message is clear: the focus has moved.
