Meta’s Reality Labs posted a loss of $4 billion in the first quarter of 2023. This loss follows his annual loss of over $13 billion in 2022.

Meta’s Reality Labs division, which focused on Metaverse products and experiences, cost the company $4 billion. The company released its first quarter 2023 quarterly results, with a loss of $4 billion adding to last year’s already substantial loss.

Meta still seems committed to the Metaverse, but its ambitions have been curtailed. The company has implemented several cost-cutting measures, including multiple layoffs. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has previously described 2023 as the year of efficiency, but all eyes will be on whether the company is well-sustained and able to grow.

The total revenue generated from the company’s metaverse is $339 million, pales in comparison to other revenue streams. The company also operates its own line of VR hardware, but these seem to be underperforming.

Meta remains the king of advertising revenue, but Zuckerberg wants to be a different company, so to speak. Investors aren’t so sure: Meta’s share price has risen in the past few weeks before crashing in 2022.

Reality Labs lost over $13 billion in 2022

2022 will be a tough year for Meta, with the company posting a whopping $13.72 billion operating loss on the Metaverse. Last year, Meta set out bold ambitions, but so far no results have been shown.

Specifically, Meta posted losses of $3 billion, $2.8 billion, $3.7 billion and $4.3 billion by quarter in 2022. The stock has fallen consistently throughout 2022, indicating that Meta’s cost-cutting measures have been struggling with losses in the Metaverse.

The loss didn’t stop Zuckerberg from being optimistic. He doubled down on his AI focus,

“We had a good quarter and our community continues to grow. Our AI efforts are delivering positive results across our apps and business. , we can build better products faster and be in a stronger position to realize our long-term vision.”

Not surprisingly, like the tech industry as a whole, Meta has its eye on AI. The ChatGPT revolution has rocked the tech sector, with several companies racing to create a truly competitive rival to OpenAI’s solutions.

Zuckerberg recently elaborated on Meta’s ambitions in this area. I wanted To “introduce billions of people to AI agents.” The CEO commented to investors, but offered little specifics on the plan.

But in February, Meta created a new team focused on creating AI. solution For popular products, Instagram and WhatsApp. This is Meta’s next pivot, but time will tell if anything happens.