The projection, given by CTO Andrew Bosworth in a blog post Monday, is little changed from the 18% of spending Meta devoted to Reality Labs in the third quarter. That means the bulk of the company’s investments will continue to go toward what Meta calls its “family of apps" - Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger.
Meta stock is down nearly 65% this year, and some have questioned Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s expensive bet on the metaverse which comes as the company has cut other costs, including widespread layoffs. Reality Labs reported a loss from operations of $9.4 billion through the first nine months of the year; Meta’s family of apps, by comparison, brought in roughly $32 billion in profit during that same period.
Bosworth said 2022 had been harder than expected.
“Economic challenges across the world, combined with pressures on Meta’s core business, created a perfect storm of skepticism about the investments we’re making," he said. Still, he added, pulling back on future bets to focus on short-term goals alone can have “disastrous consequences."
A 20% investment in futuristic technologies is a “level of investment we believe makes sense for a company committed to staying at the leading edge of one of the most competitive and innovative industries on earth," he said.
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.
