Meta’s investment in virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) is expected to surpass $100 billion this year, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg eyes 2025 as a defining year for the company’s smart glasses, according to a report by the Financial Times (FT).
Meta’s Big Bet on AR/VR Projects
In 2023, Meta allocated around $20 billion to its Reality Labs division. This is the record in its spending on AR/VR projects. After acquiring Oculus in 2014, Meta’s total investment in the sector has already crossed $80 billion. This year, the company is planning to add another $20 billion investment to reshape computing beyond traditional smartphones.
Reality Labs, responsible for developing Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and Quest VR headsets, has seen mixed results. While Zuckerberg called the Ray-Ban smart glasses a “real hit,” after selling 1 million units last year, the company is struggling to boost the adoption of its VR headsets.
This aggressive spending aligns with Zuckerberg’s long-term vision to reduce Meta’s dependence on Apple and Google’s app distribution ecosystems.
However, experts are skeptical about this investment. Matthew Ball, author of The Metaverse said, “Meta’s spending is staggering, but if they succeed in replacing Apple’s iOS, it could be justified.”
Meanwhile, Meta is also ramping up its AI investment, with plans to spend $60-$65 billion in 2024. Zuckerberg revealed that Meta is constructing a data center capable of hosting 1.3 million GPUs.
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