Meta recorded $955 million in revenue and a $6.02 billion operating loss in the fourth quarter last year at its Reality Labs unit, which it has been investing in to build a metaverse, CNBC reported on Jan. 28.
Revenue rose 13 percent from a year earlier, but losses widened 21 percent. Reality Labs’ cumulative deficit has grown to about $80 billion since the end of 2020.
Meta cut more than 1,000 employees at Reality Labs in early January and shut down several VR-related studios. Meta has tried in recent years to build a metaverse ecosystem through its Quest series of VR headsets, but the market response has been slower than expected.
Meta says it will not completely halt its VR business. Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth (앤드루 보즈워스) said in a media interview last week, “We are not rolling back VR investment,” while adding, “The market’s growth pace fell short of expectations.”
Chi-kyu Hwang
delight@d-today.co.kr