Meta has spent $36 billion building the metaverse but still has little to show f...

1 year ago

source link: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/meta-spent-36-billion-building-111241225.html
Go to the source link to view the article. You can view the picture content, updated content and better typesetting reading experience. If the link is broken, please click the button below to view the snapshot at that time.

Meta has spent $36 billion building the metaverse but still has little to show for it, while tech sensations such as the iPhone, Xbox, and Amazon Echo cost way lessMeta has spent $36 billion building the metaverse but still has little to show for it, while tech sensations such as the iPhone, Xbox, and Amazon Echo cost way less

Jyoti Mann

Sat, October 29, 2022, 8:12 PM·4 min read

Mark Zuckerberg as an avatar during Connect 2022Meta

Meta has thrown $36 billion at the metaverse but plans to spend many billions more on the project.
Wary investors are calling for Meta to focus its effort on its profitable divisions.
Insider compiled a list of tech breakthroughs that cost far less than the metaverse push.

The metaverse may be the most expensive project in the history of tech.

Meta, according to an Insider analysis of the firm's financial filings, has pumped $36 billion into its Reality Labs division since 2019.

Reality Labs houses the social-media giant's VR and metaverse arms, and remains massively unprofitable, posting a $3.7 billion operating loss on revenue of $285 million in its most recent quarter, down by almost half compared with the previous year.

The social media giant reported its second consecutive quarter of lower revenues this week, prompting some anxious investors to urge Meta to refocus on its more reliable core businesses — ads and paid messaging.

However, Mark Zuckerberg is continuing to pour billions into his metaverse dream, arguing that it's the future of computing.

The Meta CEO said the company would lose a "significant amount" of money over a three to five-year period at this year's shareholder meeting.

While Zuckerberg may believe hemorrhaging cash is the path to the metaverse's success and profitability, Insider has put together this list of highly successful tech innovations that cost just a fraction of how much Meta has already spent. These figures have not been adjusted for inflation.

Apple's iPhone

Getty Images

The iPhone, released in 2007, was in development for years at Apple, with some of the brightest minds in engineering working on the device.

Reports vary as to how much Apple actually spent creating it. According to one anonymous senior executive, speaking in 2013, the iPhone cost $150 million to make.

That's a low figure — tech publication The Information accounted for Apple's research and development spend between 2002 and 2007, coming up with a figure of $3.4 billion.

Recommend

www.cnbc.com 3 years ago
Cache

Amazon spent $11 billion on video and music content last year

TechAmazon spent $11 billion on video and music content last year, up from $7.8 billion in 2019Published Thu, Apr 15 20212:23 PM EDT

www.cnbc.com 3 years ago
Cache

Apple: Consumers, advertisers spent $643 billion through apps

TechApple says consumers and advertisers spent more than $600 billion through apps last yearPublished Wed, Jun 2 20211:00 PM EDT

www.theverge.com 2 years ago
Cache

Facebook has spent $13 billion on ‘safety and security’ since 2016 - The Verge

Facebook has spent $13 billion on ‘safety and security’ since 2016Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Facebook says it’s spent over $13 billion on “safety and security” since 2016 and has 40,000 people dedicated to the area, offe...