Meta will invest more than $100 billion in smart glasses and VR headsets, according to analysts.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, has predicted that 2025 will be a “defining year for smart glasses.” According to analyst estimates and Financial Times calculations, Meta has already invested more than $80 billion in VR and AR products since 2014.
Where is the Metaverse?
Meta’s annual report said it was expected to invest even more in those products. Over 20 billion would be added this year. That brings it to $85 billion, compared with 40 billion for Amazon’s Alexa and between 20 and 30 billion for Apple’s Vision Pro headset. Despite the lower sales of Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, Zuckerberg still wants to put money into a platform that he believes could one day replace smartphones. Apple also experienced disappointing sales figures for its Vision Pro headset.
The focus has since shifted from the Metaverse to the technological developments of AI glasses. As recently as last September, Meta unveiled the Orion prototype. “This is going to be a defining year that will determine whether we’re on our way to hundreds of millions and eventually billions of AI glasses, and whether glasses are going to be the next computing platform we’ve been talking about for a while – or whether this is just going to be a long-term process,” Zuckerberg said at Meta’s earnings presentation.
Meta remains a highly profitable company despite hefty investments. Net profit grew 60 percent last year to $62.4 billion.