Meta’s bleeding wound hurts another $5 billion – Metaverseplanet.net

Meta’s Reality Labs unit, which focuses on virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies, has once again reported significant losses in the fourth quarter. This time, the loss amounted to $4.97 billion.

Despite investing billions in the metaverse, which it aims to build using VR and AR technologies, Meta continues to struggle financially in this sector. The company announced its Q4 2024 financial results, confirming that Reality Labs posted its largest-ever operating loss. However, the unit still managed to generate $1.1 billion in sales.

Reality Labs Continues to Burn Money

Reality Labs is Meta’s division responsible for developing Quest virtual reality headsets and Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg acquired Oculus for $2 billion in 2014, marking the company’s entry into the virtual reality market. Since then, he has remained committed to VR and AR technologies, believing them to be crucial for advancing the metaverse, which he envisions as the next big computing platform.

While Zuckerberg has ambitious plans for the metaverse, Reality Labs has accumulated an operating loss exceeding $60 billion since 2020. However, despite these losses, Meta’s overall financial situation remains strong. In Q4 2024, the company reported revenues of $48.39 billion, reflecting a 22% year-over-year increase. Meanwhile, net profit surged 43%, reaching $20.8 billion.

Meta’s Future Investments in AI and XR Technologies

Last week, Meta announced plans to invest between $60 billion and $65 billion in capital expenditures by 2025 to expand its computing infrastructure. This investment will strengthen Meta’s artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, which have become central to its metaverse ambitions.

As part of this strategy, Meta has integrated AI-powered features into products like the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. Additionally, the company unveiled a prototype of its augmented reality headset, Orion, last year. This device can overlay digital objects onto a person’s real-world field of view, demonstrating Meta’s vision for the future of AR technology.

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