“It would be a mistake for us not to focus on any of these topics that will be vitally essential to our future,” Mark Zuckerberg remarked when asked why his firm is focused on experimental bets.
The parent firm of Facebook is under pressure to focus less on the metaverse, which investors claim is an experimental venture resulting in “supersized and scary losses.”
Last year, the IT titan changed its name to Meta to construct a virtual world that would be used by millions of people.
However, Mark Zuckerberg‘s metaverse has been plagued by technological issues, with user numbers falling far short of executive expectations.
According to the most recent numbers, Reality Labs, the business responsible for constructing the metaverse, lost £3.16 billion between July and September, compared to £2.27 billion in the same time last year.
Investors dumped Meta’s stock after the business warned that losses related to the metaverse would “increase dramatically” next year.
“It would be a mistake for us not to focus on any of these topics that will be vitally essential to our future,” Zuckerberg remarked when asked why his firm is focused on experimental bets.
However, researchers have stated that the metaverse “feels like one enormous gamble,”, particularly in light of the present economic crisis and that the road ahead would be “long and unpleasant.”
The virtual reality headsets required to get the most out of Meta’s virtual environment are expensive. One costs £1,300, which puts it out of reach for many people.
PP Foresight’s Paolo Pescatore stated: “People aren’t rushing out to buy a VR headgear or even watch 360-degree films… The new technology still has the appearance of an expensive toy.”
Earlier this week, a Meta-investment fund urged the corporation to reduce its annual investment in the metaverse from $10 billion to $5 billion.
Brad Gerstner, CEO of Altimeter Capital, warned: “Meta has gone into the region of excess – too many people, too many ideas, too little urgency.”
“When growth is simple, this lack of focus and fitness is hidden, but it is lethal when growth stops and technology changes.”
Meanwhile, Insider Intelligence analyst Debra Aho Williamson has advised Meta that it has to focus less on the metaverse and more on its main business.
“As Facebook Inc, was a breakthrough firm that altered the way people communicated and advertisers interacted with customers. Today, it is no longer that innovative trailblazer.”
Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is also dealing with declining advertising sales and fierce competition from TikTok.
Revenue declined for the second quarter in a row to £23.83 billion.
Meta’s share price is on the verge of plunging to its lowest level in six years, and the stock has dropped by 61.6% since the beginning of the year.
